Lead Us Into Temptation
by Anastasia Dreams
Summary: The past bleeds into the present and Klaus remembers everything. A tale of seduction, reincarnation and a witch's curse through the centuries. AU from 3x15. Darker, more obsessive Klaus.
1. Prologue

Edited by Tati and MyLadyElise. Since this was posted in March 2012 the story begins after 3x15 and Caroline's attempt to distract Klaus at the Grill so an attack can be made on Kol. It becomes AU from that point on.

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><p>Klaus dreams of the Elizabethan Court in 1599<p>

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><p>It began as a blur of lush colors. Swirls of silver embroidery on a vibrant blue velvet gown, spun-gold curls fluttering over delicate rose tinted cheeks and eyes that darkened to midnight as he moved in closer. Already, he could smell the fragrant, rich blood quickening in her veins. His fangs descended to savage the frail human morsel offered up to him like a gift. Slipping greedily into the blissful haze of bloodlust, he was shocked when only the breathy sound of his name falling from her lips, caused him to snap his fangs back into place. With a soft rustle of fabric she fell into his arms, her slight weight strangely recognizable as her body melted against his. Desire and lust sinuously slithered through him as her lips skimmed his neck with fluttering, butterfly touches. Instinctively, his arms enfolded her into an embrace, his cheek resting gently against her hair.<p>

It was Caroline, and yet it wasn't. This Caroline was human and the heady smell of her blood tantalized his darkest nature, but he held back. She was not prey, and could not be made to suffer the usual fate of being drained to a dry husk. Rather, she belonged to him. In fact, he already knew that in time he would claim her, forever tarnishing the bright light within her as he brought her over to his world. For now, however, he was content to woo her. The process of proper courtship, something he had never thought to enjoy, now delighted and entertained him.

Klaus did not question the dream. It all felt oddly familiar even if he was dressed in clothing five hundred years old. His eyes drifted around him and he recognized his location, the small rose garden of Whitehall castle. He had often dined on ladies of the Elizabethan court there. Instead of pondering this new revelation, he gave into the sensual and exquisite pleasure of having a willing and – dare he believe – a loving Caroline in his arms. Away from reality and the eyes of his family and followers, he allowed himself to be swept away into a sea of vulnerability. The iron cage he had erected around his heart began to rust and bend, and he was struck by a sudden feeling of wrongness. He embraced Caroline tighter, his panic growing as a form appeared before him with a flash of light and color. He recognized her for what she was and bared his fangs as he thrust Caroline behind him, protecting her with his body.

"Witch!"

The woman before him, dressed elegantly as one of the Queen's ladies in black and silver, grinned cruelly at him. In the moonlight he could see the whites of her eyes darkening as she pointed one thin, bony finger at him. "Did you really think you could be allowed such a gift? You who knows only how to destroy?"

"As if you are so different?" he growled.

"I shall pay for my deeds in time, Vampire. But you, an aberration of nature and a blight upon the living, will never know such penance."

Klaus sensed the confusion and fear radiating off Caroline in waves and already he could feel her poised to step away from him and face down the witch, something he could not allow. She had to be protected at all costs; he could not even begin to comprehend a life without her anymore.

"I will give you one chance to walk away before I make you suffer such torment you shall pray for the inquisitor's rack. What exactly is the punishment for witches these days? Death by stoning, or is it fire? " Klaus's taunting words hung heavy in the air and, to his satisfaction, he felt a fissure of fear circulate through the witch's blood.

Unfortunately, he realized how little effect his threat ultimately made when she took a step towards him. He could feel the magic swell around him as she drew her power from the earth and surrounding space. Klaus moved to pounce, to rip the harridan's head from her body, but with a flick of her wrist, he froze in place. He struggled as every bone in his body solidified into an unmovable force. Sharp talons of fear clawed at his insides as he realized his and Caroline's danger. He had never encountered such raw power from a witch. The source she was channeling had to be as ancient as he was.

"Niklaus!" Caroline screamed.

Klaus felt her move to stand in front of him, putting herself between him and the witch. Panting, focusing all his energy into his body, he sought the strength to move, to protect her, but it was useless.

"Run, Caroline." Even though he was screaming inside, he willed his voice to be calm, lowering his tone to the deep hypnotic timbre that he knew would compel her. Only her emotions, taunt and wild, refused to be tamed.

Caroline stared down the witch bravely, only the slight trembling of her fingers betraying her. "Why are you doing this? What are you?"

The witch took a step towards the young girl, her face morphing into an almost sympathetic look as her hand reached out to cup Caroline's cheek. "Poor child. You don't even know of the evil, the darkness that seeks to corrupt you."

Caroline roughly shook of the witch's touch. "You speak nonsense."

"I speak the truth. This suitor that is so sweet and gentle with you hides the deadliest and foulest of creatures beneath his charm." At the look of disbelief on Caroline's face, the witch continued. "He is Vampire, defiler and destroyer of all that is good and pure in this world, and I am about to save you from a fate worse than death."

"You are insane," Caroline bravely scoffed even as she took a step back from the woman. "The only fate you are saving me from is time alone with a gentleman I have come to love."

Caroline's flushed face as she turned to give him a shy look struck a dagger right at Klaus's heart. Even as hard as he had tried not to compel her, he had always been half afraid he had. He had found no other reason to explain the affection she had developed for him.

The witch ground her teeth at the tenderness between them. "Go ahead and ask him. I shall force him to tell you the truth."

"How can I take as truth anything you force out of him?" Caroline asked defiantly.

"Niklaus Mikaelson, show your true self."

Once more, Klaus felt the magic shimmer in the air and slowly his face metamorphosed, his fangs elongating, the veins popping around his eyes. "I will skin you alive before this day is through," he spat at the witch as Caroline's eyes widened with dread.

"Niklaus? This is true? You're a vampire?"

Her small voice tore at Klaus, but he refused to lower his eyes as Caroline looked up at him, almost through him. He would not now, not ever be ashamed of what he was, of his true nature.

"So Father Leonard was right. You do exist." Caroline slowly shook her head. "But, I don't understand. You could have had anyone you wanted, taken whatever you wanted. Instead, you chose to be with me?"

Klaus didn't even need to think before speaking. "How could anyone blinded by such genuine beauty wish for anything else?"

A look of wonder hovered over Caroline's face and slowly she walked towards him the train of her gown trailing behind her. With the tip of her finger she tentatively caressed the curve of his face and, even though he knew he was paralyzed, he swore he moved into her touch. Then with a shaky exhale; she tentatively stroked one of his fangs. If he could have shivered he would have. She could not know how sensitive fangs were, how maddening and sensuous such a touch was.

"What an absolutely disgusting display," the witch forced out.

Reluctantly, Caroline turned once more to face their attacker. "Let him go."

"Not just yet. He must pay for his crimes."

"What are these crimes you speak of? Is it not penance enough that he must forever live like this? Walk among us knowing he shall never die?" Caroline asked her tone colored with pity.

Klaus wanted to speak up and tell her that he loved and savored every never-ending year of his life.

The witch laughed harshly. "You think he doesn't revel in his existence? No, that is not punishment at all. As for his crimes, ask him about Beatrice? What he did to my daughter."

"You will have to give me more information than that, Witch. There have been so many over the years, and I rarely ask for names," he drawled. He regretted his bravado the second he saw the flash of horror in Caroline's eyes.

The witch seemed to shrink within herself at his words. The magic that held him in place wavered, and he once more gathered his strength around him in preparation to strike. He was already planning exactly how much damage he could inflict without actually killing her when the witch rose up before him like a phoenix from the ashes. From within her dress she removed a slender stake that he could see was covered with a fine layer of white powder.

"I had thought to end your days in the same manner with which you dispatched some of your own family." Klaus struggled once more at the magic that held him in place. There was little he feared but to be banished forever to the darkness of slumber somewhere in the in-between frightened him.

The witch tapped the tip of the stake on the finger of her other hand. "But now I think such a punishment is not worthy of you. You deserve so much more."

"I will not let you kill him, no matter what he has done," Caroline said grimly as she eyed the moving stake in the witch's hand.

"As if you could stop me," the witch answered with a laugh.

Caroline jutted out her chin stubbornly. "Just try me."

"Foolish girl." The witch replaced the stake within her dress. "It really is unfortunate, Vampire. You are forcing me to take from you that which would ultimately be your redemption."

Klaus wanted to laugh at the witch's words. What did he care for redemption? Such a word was meant for the weakest of all creatures, humans. Vampires did not have such constraints. They were Gods among men, witches and werewolves.

The witch raised her hands in the air and a low humming rose up from the ground. Wind seemed to come from nowhere, the air slashing at Klaus's cheeks. The sky darkened, heavy clouds eating the light from the sun. It was then he heard chanting, hundreds of voices repeating the same words over and over again. He watched in anger, completely powerless as the witch grasped Caroline's arm. Even though he knew the worst the witch could do was kill her, he did not want her end to happen like this. Caroline's death was supposed to be his gift to her. He was to be both her executioner and the merciful angel who brought about her birth into his darkness. The witch was taking everything from him, and as soon as her magic tired her, he would give her a lifetime of torture.

"Klaus!" Caroline cried out in fear, as she struggled to get away from the witch.

"She is an innocent," he growled. "Hurt her and you damn your soul to hell."

The witch pulled Caroline closer. "It is worth the price."

The heart that Niklaus liked to pretend he did not have clenched at Caroline's distress. It would all be over soon, he wordlessly promised her. He would ensure after such a traumatic end, her birth into his world would be one befitting of a queen.

The world went white as lightning cut the sky in two. The brightness was too much to bear for Klaus, and he was forced to briefly close his eyes. Slowly he opened them, ignoring his weakness – the wetness in his eyes that came from knowing that for Caroline the end had come. Still, he was unprepared for the sight of her sprawled in a heap on the ground, her skin so translucent and white. He reached out with his senses and felt the absence of a heartbeat, the stillness of her blood in her veins and he roared with anger.

"You think you have won, old woman, but she will live again as a vampire and I will make sure you pay for taking a death that was, by all rights, mine."

"No." The witch shook her head sadly. "You will not remember her. I will make you forget you ever knew that she existed. When you regain your memory, you will only see the corpse of a stranger and you will feel nothing."

"I could never forget her or what has happened this day," Klaus snarled. "I will eviscerate you for what you have stolen from me, the pain you caused her."

Ignoring Klaus, she continued her curse, "For the rest of your years you will know a hole of emptiness that will never be filled, not matter how hard you try. "

She walked towards him, slowly, as if every footfall caused her pain as her magic slowly left her. She placed one cool hand on his forehead, mumbled something in Latin and everything went black. He was falling. Falling through time.

Klaus sat up abruptly from his leather chair in front of the fireplace, the dying embers the only remnants left of the Caroline sketches he had once so prized. It all made sense now, his fascination with Caroline, the way she made him feel whole. "You have lost, Witch," he shouted at the still moonlight streaming through the window. "I remember everything."


	2. Chapter 1

Thanks to my lovely beta, ElisebethVE.

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><p>Caroline slammed her calculus textbook shut. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't focus on the equations. It wasn't due to the mediocre rock tribute band currently massacring eighties classics or the raucous laughter of a group of teen girls trying to hook up with a pack of older college guys. It wasn't even her proximity to the siren call of numerous hearts all rhythmically pumping blood. For some reason she was uneasy and the simple things that usually gave her joy now left her feeling empty.<p>

Unfortunately, this restlessness resulted in her being extra irritable; she even snapped at Elena today. Heaven knows the girl was suffering enough and the last thing she needed was Caroline's sharp tongue. This evening was supposed to be about time to herself, a chance to catch up on the overwhelming amount of homework she had. She probably should have stayed home, but with her mom working another night shift, the empty silence had grated on her nerves.

With a frustrated huff, she gathered her books and papers into her bag, stopping to run her hands over her short blue skirt, smoothing the wrinkles in the silk. She thought about stopping at the restroom to reapply her lipstick, but with a shrug of her shoulders she decided not to bother. Instead, she buttoned the cropped jacket she was wearing and threw her bag over her shoulder. Heading towards the door her gaze connected briefly with Matt's and she gave him a small nod. He offered a pained smile as he collected dirty dishes from one of the many leather booths. Although things were not nearly as awkward as they used to be between them, she still worried that the slightest misstep on her part would cause him to yank away the tentative friendship they had built. She liked to think that it wouldn't bother her and that he would be the one missing out, but she knew differently. Losing him would be like saying goodbye to a piece of her humanity.

Outside she let the cool night air wash over her and attempted to clear her mind. Again it was useless. Walking towards her car, she smiled at the barely audible moans and fevered breaths of several couples making out in their cars. Apparently, none of them were lucky enough to have parents that worked nights. The sounds made her miss Tyler. Before the whole Sire bond thing they had been so perfect together, like a fairytale - something from out of one of those lurid, supernatural, romance paperbacks that she frequently saw members of her cheerleading squad reading. When the girls had sighed over the Romeo and Juliet plotlines of mystical creatures falling for humans, she hadn't known whether to laugh or cry. If only they knew the truth, the vampires and werewolves that walked among them.

The lamp from the streetlight above her flickered as she pulled her keys from her bag. Inserting her car key into the lock on her car, she felt rather than heard a disturbance in the air behind her. Twirling around, she held her key aloft in one hand like a weapon, poised to attack.

"You do realize you're a vampire," drawled the voice in front of her. "What are you going to do? Key your attacker to death?"

Caroline was momentarily stunned at Klaus's presence. Speechless, her gaze swept over him, taking in his low-slung dark, denim jeans and open necked linen-colored cotton shirt. Fixing her eyes on his chiseled face, she tried to read his mood, but it was like trying to read a blank slate. While a smirk played at his lips, his eyes were as dark and unfathomable as the night sky. Was he here to kill her?

Fear pooled low in her belly and she was forced to clench her hands to stop the trembling in her fingers. Forcing a bravado she didn't feel, she spoke up, "Unlike you, I don't like killing. Besides, I don't want to reveal to everyone in the parking lot that…" she paused, lowering her voice, to a murmur, "I'm a vampire."

Klaus's eyes narrowed. "Do you really detest your true nature?"

"What do you want, Klaus?" Caroline asked warily, deftly avoiding the dangerous topic. She wasn't about to risk her life baring her soul on a subject that she had so many mixed feelings about. Besides, if she couldn't even talk to Elena and Bonnie about it she certainly wasn't going to discuss it with Klaus.

"Walk with me, love."

He didn't even bother to couch his words as a request. Caroline knew she shouldn't disobey, but she was tired and the last thing she wanted was to be alone with him after her part in Kol's daggering. "If only I could, but I need to get home. My mom is expecting me." To pacify him, she offered what she hoped was an innocent and sweet smile.

"I do believe your mother is quite occupied right now. Sadly, there seems to have been a killing over on Main Street. Such a young and pretty thing she was too. All dressed in one of those cheer costumes Rebekah wears.

Caroline slumped against her car door. She didn't even want to guess which one of her squad had been his treat tonight. "You didn't need to go to such lengths to speak to me."

"But it seems I did, lovely Caroline," Klaus said softly.

Klaus took a step forward, leaning in close to her ear as if to whisper like a lover and she pressed her back tightly against her car, trying to move as far away from him as she could. It was useless. She was pinned in and at his mercy. Slowly, he lifted his hand and to her surprise instead of attacking her, he gently tucked her hair behind her ear. His hot breath shimmered over the sensitive skin of her neck and she shivered. From fear or pleasure she didn't know. She could hardly move, barely breathe as his fingertips trailed from her ear to skim the curve of her neck. Swallowing hard, she tried to ignore the luxurious sensations curling up from her toes and sparking like electricity through her body. He was taking advantage of her, using his power over her. That could be the only explanation for her reaction. The neck was one of the more sensitive spots on a vampire and as much as it disgusted her she was not immune to such eroticism.

"Please don't," she breathed, her eyelids slowly fluttering. "Don't compel me in this way."

He pulled away, only to stare deeply into her eyes. Unable to look away, she felt trapped in his gaze. Lost in the amber flecks in his deep blue eyes she saw raw desire and for a slight moment a flicker of what looked like hope.

"There is no compulsion."

Without thinking, Caroline shoved him away, not even fearing that she had laid hands on the hybrid. "Of course you're compelling me. Why else would I feel this way?"

Klaus smiled, his white teeth glinting in the moonlight. "What way?"

"You know," she accused. "All tingly and —," she stopped abruptly as she realized she was about to say horny. He must have used some kind of magic on her. There was no other reason to explain why she had this horrible urge to kiss him, to run her palms over his muscular chest.

He laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners and he looked so little like the big, bad vampire trying to destroy her friends that she almost caught herself smiling back.

"About that walk, love?"

"Do we have to?" Caroline knew she was tempting fate by being obstinate, but she had never been the type of girl to give in meekly to a demand. Especially, when that demand was coming from a thousand year old murderous vampire. "I'm really not in the mood to play games. So, if you mean to kill me for my part in the whole daggering thing do it now."

"In front of all these innocents you try so hard to protect?" he mocked.

Sheepishly, Caroline looked around the parking lot, realizing she had forgotten the very public audience they had. "You know, they don't exist just to be vamp food. No one deserves the fate of serving as an unwilling meal."

At the bitterness in her tone, Klaus, in a blur of movement grabbed her wrist. At his tight grip, Caroline could feel bruises already blooming over her delicate skin. She hadn't thought a vampire could move so fast.

"Who has fed on you?" Klaus snarled.

"What are you doing?" Caroline struggled against his hold, but his hand on her was like steel. "Let me go!"

Klaus yanked her towards him and she fell against his chest. "Tell me and I will."

She was so close to him she could smell the cologne he wore, an intoxicating scent of sandalwood that mingled with his natural smell. Her cheek lay against his muscular chest and looking up at him, she realized in shock that his fangs were fully extended. The fierce look on his face, the blazing yellow of his eyes convinced her that she needed to tread carefully. Klaus was not acting rationally and she was afraid of what he might do if she told the truth.

"It was no one," she said shakily. When he said nothing, Caroline knew her answer hadn't even come close to placating him. She shifted in his arms, but his grasp held strong. Finally, she lowered her head letting her hair fall over her face so he wouldn't be able to see in her eyes the falsehood she was about to tell. "It was… it was a vampire passing through town."

"You lie."

Caroline was silent. Lying had never come easy to her.

Klaus tightened his grip on her wrist and she feared the bones might snap. "Tell me or I swear, I will compel you to tell me."

If possible she paled, the pink tint of her cheeks draining to the color of white parchment. It was her worst fear come to life. She would willingly face her own death rather than suffer compulsion again. "Please, don't do this."

"Just tell me the truth, love, and it will all be over," he crooned.

It was a point of no return for her. She would never again allow herself to be compelled, even if it meant betraying the vampire that had somehow wormed his way into Elena's heart.

"Damon…it was Damon."

Klaus growled and the primal, animalistic sound struck fear into her heart. "I will make him pay for what he has done to you. He will not see another sunrise."

"Don't kill him."

"Why, Caroline? Have you so forgiven his treatment of you?"

She hesitated before answering, afraid of the effect her words might have. She wasn't about to lie to him. The situation was dangerous enough without her playing with fire. "Yes and no."

"What does that even mean?" He asked, his confusion causing his fangs to recede back into place.

"Well, while I can't completely forgive him yet for what he put me through, I can accept that he is not exactly the vampire he used to be. He has changed, is changing into someone I can respect. Because of that I can kind of forgive him. Like he has a 60 percent forgiveness score at this point, but if he saves Elena a few more times and learns to play better with others he has the possibility to earn more percentage points. I like to think of him as game in progress."

Cocking his head to one side, Klaus studied her intently, a smile playing at his lips. "That makes no sense."

"Sure it does. Think of it like a football game. See—" Caroline opened her mouth to further explain, but the amusement she saw twinkling in the Klaus's eyes stopped her. "Fine. I give up. It makes no sense."

"To the contrary. It makes perfect, adorable Caroline sense. My favorite kind."

Caroline felt a funny, swelling sensation in her chest at his teasing and affectionate words. She was used to people making fun off and looking down at her silliness, not making her feel special because of it. Even as sweet as Klaus's comment was, she couldn't forget his earlier threat and she wouldn't drop the subject of Damon until she had her way. "Please, leave Damon alone."

Klaus ignored her. Instead he seemed entirely focused on her hand. Raising her wrist to the light he peered at it. "Forgive me, Love. I forget my own strength where you are concerned," he said gently. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Caroline inhaled sharply in surprise as Klaus lifted her wrist to mouth and slid his lips over the tender skin, pressing a reverent kiss to the flesh. She didn't know how to handle this new Klaus. This hybrid, who could be so tender with her, so sweet, but at the same time capable of such destruction and violence. She worried it was an act, a way to worm himself in closer to her group and ferret out their plans, but if that was the case, why such an elaborate charade to gain her trust and affection? Why not just torture her and force her to inform on her friends?

Such thoughts were instantly shoved to the background as the touch of his hot mouth on her skin caused that awful tingly sensation she had felt before. As his lips lingered over the now non-existent bruises, it took all of her will power to ignore the heat that he was so skillfully awakening deep within herself. "Klaus, I mean it. Don't hurt Damon," she practically whimpered.

His eyes firmly fixed on hers now he released her wrist.

With a sigh of obvious relief Caroline moved away from him. Looking at her wrist, she realized the bruises had already disappeared. A vampire benefit she enjoyed.

"What is it worth to you?"

Caroline frowned, her lips pursing "Don't get any funny ideas. Sex is completely out of the question."

Klaus chuckled, his eyes dancing. "How interesting that you immediately jump to such a salacious thought. What a filthy mind you have."

"I—I do not." Was she blushing? Her face felt so hot. Vampires didn't blush, did they? "What is it that you want for your word to leave Damon alone?"

"Hmmm. What is it that I want from you?" Klaus tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Within reason," She was quick to add.

Holding out his arm, Klaus reached for her red leather bag. "Let's take that walk shall we?"

Caroline grasped her schoolbag, attempting to pull it away. "What are you doing?

"Being the gentleman," Klaus said with aplomb. "Isn't it customary for a young man to carry his paramour's schoolbooks."

"You're going to carry my books?" Caroline's eyes widened with disbelief.

Klaus tugged the bag away from her, easily lifting it over his shoulder. "Of course, since according to my limited knowledge of high school courting practices it appears to be the modern way to woo the girl one fancies. I am nothing if not modern."

Caroline shook her head with silent laughter at the sight of Klaus carrying her schoolbag. She couldn't believe she had probably the most evil vampire that ever existed carrying her schoolbooks for her. The idea was just so insane she had to fight back the laughter bubbling up inside her.

"Fine, I will walk with you for a bit, but only because we need to come to some agreement about Damon."

Offering Caroline an annoyed smile, Klaus waited for Caroline to chose the path they were to take before speaking up, "If it weren't for the debt you are about to owe me I would gladly kill him so I would never have to hear his name again."

"Well, you are going to hear his name repeatedly until we come to some kind of terms. And just what kind of debt are we talking about," Caroline asked suspiciously as she headed to the right towards the outskirts of town. Heaven knows she didn't want to run into any of her friends or even any potential snack prospects.

"It is something very simple really. Something that is already owed me and long overdue."

"And what could that possibly be?" Caroline scoffed. "I don't recall asking you to heal me from Tyler's bite. Just because you saved my life doesn't mean that I am going to kiss your hand and throw myself at you."

"Obviously," Klaus remarked dryly. "Still you owe me something."

Caroline stopped midstride, opening her mouth to speak, but Klaus held up his hand effectively cutting her off.

"Not for the bite. I hold the blame for that. Although there is the matter of your betrayal the other night, but I am willing to overlook that since I could hardly have expected different from someone as loyal to her friends as you are."

Pacified, at least for the moment, Caroline continued walking. They were now on the sidewalk of a quiet residential street and she was happy to note that the inhabitants of the neighborhood all seemed tucked up in their beds. "So I am not saying I owe you anything, but if I do, why do I owe you?"

"You owe me for repeatedly denying me. I have been everything that is honorable to you in my attempts to court you. Against every inclination in my being, I have been everything that a gentleman should be towards you, yet you keep shutting me out without even giving me a chance. "

It was the sound of the hurt little boy bleeding through his words that uncomfortably poked at Caroline. How was it he could be such an evil vampire and still human at the same time? Plus, he made her sound perfectly horrible. Which made her feel terrible. What kind of person was she? It was true. He had been kind and sweet with his gift and his wishing to offer her the world and she had shut him out. Honestly, if it were anyone other than Klaus who had done those things the outcome would have been so very different. No one had ever made such romantic gestures to her.

She hadn't even realized she had stopped walking until he was standing right in front of her, his beautiful eyes fixed right on hers.

"Give me that chance, Caroline. A date. Some time alone with you."

Her eyes slowly drifted shut. She couldn't bear to look at the hope and the eagerness reflected back at her. How could she say yes to him? Not when he was still using her best friend as his blood bag to create an army. She didn't even want to consider the atrocities he had committed without thought or remorse. Then, there were the dark, wild feelings that he aroused in her. Feelings that should forever stay buried. No, she could never grant him that chance. "I can't."

Klaus growled, wildly running a hand through his hair. "You would offer Damon some ridiculous sixty percent chance forgiveness, but not even bother to spend a single evening in my company. "

"It isn't like that," Caroline cried out in alarm as Klaus grasped her shoulders with cruel fingers, pulling her in close.

He touched his forehead to hers. "By your choice, Damon will never know a minute of peace for the rest of his god forsaken life. Do you have any idea how much torture it takes to drive a vampire mad? I won't even give him that respite."

The deadly softness of his threat swirling in the air between them made Caroline want to weep in despair. She was about to damn Damon to a life in hell and forever destroy her friendship with Elena all because she was afraid. Without allowing herself time to think about the choice she was about to make, she reached out with a trembling hand to cup his face. At her action, the tension that had been so tightly coiled like a spring in Klaus was slowly released. He leaned into the caress, a wild beast comforted by a single caring touch.

"Caroline," he murmured.

Tears came to her eyes as realized what she was about to do, whether due to her desire to save or her own recognition of her darkest wish she didn't know. "Give me the chance to know you," Caroline requested softly.

"Three dates, Love. You are mine for three nights."

"One. You said one," Caroline countered, her hand immediately returning to her side. Three dates was enough that anything could happen. Anything.

Klaus pulled away from her, a look of triumph on his countenance. "That was before you decided to try my patience. Now I think it only fair you owe me three."

"But—"

"Shall we make that four," Klaus interrupted.

"No," Caroline said crossly. "I will have three dates with you, but as part of our bargain you must promise not to hurt Damon or participate in any plotting those days that would hurt my friends."

"Making demands already of your beau? How very cunning of you."

Caroline wanted to retort that beau was so last century, but the thought of hearing the word boyfriend falling from Klaus's lips was enough to make her shudder. "Well, it is only fair now that I owe you three dates."

Klaus considered the matter and Caroline completely expected him to refuse, but instead he nodded, a pleased smirk on his face. "Shall we kiss on it, then?"

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Caroline instead held out her hand for them to shake on it.

He chuckled and rather than shaking her hand he drew it once again to his lips. This time instead of kissing the back of her hand, he turned it palm up. Then with a veiled look in her direction he leaned in to kiss the tender tissue at the heart of the inside of her hand. She had never thought or even considered the palm to be an erogenous zone, but as she felt his hot breath feather over the taunt skin, she was forced to reconsider. A slow shudder ran through her as little tongues of fire danced all over her skin. She waited with breathless anticipation for his lips to at last touch her now-burning flesh, but instead he waited until she was lightheaded and on the verge of swooning before at last he pressed his lips to her palm. The sudden relief of this highly wished-for simple touch was almost too much to bear. At the agonizing pleasure of it, she almost threw herself into his arms.

"What is it you do to me?" Caroline whispered as he released her hand.

Klaus merely smiled. Only instead of reassuring her, it frightened her right to her core. Such power could only corrupt her.

"Let me walk back you back to your car."

She awoke from her daze, feeling as if the world was spinning off its axis. Tonight she had taken a path she never dreamed possible. She could only hope she hadn't forever damned herself with her choice.

They walked back to the car quietly, Caroline very aware of the new swagger in Klaus's walk, the victorious air about him. While he hadn't compelled her, she felt as if she had been manipulated and she hated him for it. Arriving at her vehicle, she was too tired to even comment about how he held the car door for her as she climbed into her car.

"Tomorrow. 8:00," he said happily.

"8:00," Caroline conceded with a deep sense of foreboding.

"Love?"

"What is it now?" She snapped. She didn't even care that she sounded the absolute shrew. She was beyond exhausted and worried if she spent another minute in Klaus's company she would lose it completely.

"Don't worry. Your cheerleaders are safe from me. I didn't kill anyone this evening." With those shocking last words he gently shut the car door.

Tears of relief pricked her eyes as she turned her key to start the engine. There would be no funeral for her attend and no lies to be told to grieving parents. He had granted her an unexpected gift and she was grateful, but it wasn't enough to keep her from regretting the bargain they had made. As she pulled out of the parking lot she looked back in the rear-view mirror at him, until he was a speck in the background. If only she could keep him at this distance forever, but she knew deep in her heart he would never allow it.

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><p>Thanks to my wonderful reviewers: SharkGurl, maevelin, Shanynde, LaLaALa521, uvit81, klaroline fan, Zoey24, slytherin Grrrrl and ElisebethVE. Your reviews keep me writing and posting.<p>

Comments and constructive criticism welcome.


	3. Chapter 2

Dedicated to my amazing beta, ElisebethVE. Without her help and expert knowledge of the time period this chapter would have been a mess.

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><p>Klaus slowly sipped cognac from a delicate crystal glass, swirling the slightly sweet liquid over his tongue as a minuet by Bach played in the background. Leaning back on his leather couch, he closed his eyes and succumbed to the rich flavor of the one hundred and fifty year old fine French liquor. It had been a long time since he had tasted a vintage this superb. It reminded him of the moonlit fêtes that he and Rebekah had thrown from their chateau in Lorraine which they had appropriated from a social climbing middle-aged industrialist. Unsurprisingly, the upstart had tasted sufficiently nasty, but gaining the chateau had made up for the unpleasant experience.<p>

Normally, he didn't treat himself to such a rare drink, but tonight he was celebrating. After a long and frustrating chase, he had at last made progress with Caroline. He had managed to get her to agree to three dates with him. Most importantly, he had, at last, got her confirmation that their attraction was not entirely one sided. With only a simple touch from him her resistance had had wavered, her eyes darkening with want. Her body, if not her soul, seemed to recognize him and while he didn't want to press his advantage in this manner, he would if he had to.

He would be lying if he didn't acknowledge the affect she had on him. While he prided himself on his self-control, it took considerable will power to keep from kissing and claiming her as his. When he had touched her, pressed his lips to her soft skin and inhaled her intoxicating scent of roses and lilies, he knew a pleasure unlike any other. He felt the rampaging beast inside of him calm and his ever-present ache of emptiness recede. He wanted her, needed her. Klaus had always taken what he wanted without any considerations or regret, but he knew if he was ever to make Caroline completely his, he was going to have win her heart and her mind. This kind of weakness towards her was enough to make him want to go out and massacre a village. Holding him in check was the knowledge that such an act would risk Caroline's affections and upset the current peace that existed in Mystic Falls.

Opening his eyes, he raised them to gaze at the portrait that now hung in honor above the fireplace. When he awoke from his dream the other night, he had it located in his storage vault and flown in overnight. He had stolen it centuries ago and always assumed that he wanted it because he had been present when the picture was sketched. Now he knew differently. Moving to stand in front of the portrait, he studied it again. The artist, barely remembered now, had been known for his rich colors and tiny brushstrokes and this picture was one of his finest. The centerpiece was Queen Elizabeth I, seated on her throne, resplendent in a scarlet and gold gown, wearing her favorite pearls. In the background were the ladies and gentleman of her court and in the foreground were players from the Lord Chamberlin's Men. They were performing Henry V and if he remembered correctly, the title role was played by Shakespeare himself.

However, it was the small figure seated at the Queen's feet that held his attention, haunted him. She sat with several other young maidens, but something about her made her stand out. It wasn't that her gaze held the artists boldly, that she was beautiful or even her sweet smile that set her apart. The artist, while managing to capture her dimensions, also caught the inner light within her. Staring hard at the golden figure dressed in dark green, Klaus felt like the artist had caught and revealed a part of her soul in his paints. Reluctantly, he tore his gaze from her to to his own figure at the far left. There he was, his face half-hidden in brush strokes of painted shadows. Still, one could see from the tilt of his head where his gaze lay. Had he been that fascinated from the beginning? Had he known without even speaking to her, that she belonged to him and the loss of her would be his greatest punishment?

Klaus bowed his head, letting his newfound memories wash over him, lighting a way in his darkness. Decades and then centuries passed and in his mind it was 1599. Elizabeth I had been on the throne for 41 years and he had spent the last few decades living the life of a French Vicomte. Since his inability to age and the mysterious slaughter of aristocratic Huguenots was beginning to cause minor talk at the French court, he had chosen to join the delegation accompanying the new ambassador to England. It was his intention to stay on in England until enough time had passed that it was safe to return to France.

The English court had changed a lot since he had last visited during the reign of the Queen's sister, Mary. The country then was ruled by religious chaos and with the blood of Protestant martyrs running in the streets it had been all too easy to hunt without the fear of getting caught. Under Elizabeth, things had changed drastically. England knew a peace and prosperity he had not seen since the beginning of her father, Henry VIII's, rule. It was reflected here at the Presence Chamber in Whitehall Palace where court was currently in residence. The oak paneled walls were covered in rich tapestries, paintings and ornamental plates of gold. The courtiers were dressed like flamboyant plumed birds of paradise and the Queen, herself, was covered in a king's ransom of pearls and jewels.

He had missed meeting Elizabeth at the ambassador's formal presentation at court due to the lovely daughters of a baron he had met crossing the channel. They had made a delicious snack, and when he had finished, he made sure to have the baron sign over his very comfortable London house before ending the man's life. He would need a place to stay close to court. That night, he had arrived late to Whitehall only to the find the Presence Chamber packed for a performance of Shakespeare's _Henry V _presented in the French Ambassador's honor. As the chorus for the play assembled before the Queen, Klaus found a place towards the back of the chamber, just out of reach of the light coming from hundreds of flickering candles mounted in iron chandeliers. From the moment the chorus began to speak, Klaus was captivated. It wasn't hard to see genius in Shakespeare's words. While the Henry he had known had differed from the Henry of this play, he knew that through the power of the written word and the magic of the theatre that this king would attain an immortality and God-like status that even history couldn't give him.

Perhaps, he would never have met Caroline if not for her sweet laughter. The sound, like the tinkling of melodious church bells, forced his attention away from the comedic courtship scene between Katherine of Valois and Henry V and towards her. She was seated at Queen Elizabeth's feet and bathed in soft candlelight, her eyes bright and shining with laughter, she looked ethereal. Staring at her beauty, the light and innocence that seemed to radiate from her, he knew he had to have her. Such perfection could not be allowed to exist. He kept his eyes on her, willing her to turn her head and see if she could glimpse her death in his face, but she stared steadfastly at the play in front of her. The scene continued and he no longer knew what words the actors spoke, he only watched her. The play of emotions on her face fascinated him and Shakespeare's skill was once more proven as the laughter in her eyes gave way to tears. They glistened like diamonds and when one rolled slowly down her pale, ivory cheek, he felt the unwelcome urge to wipe it gently away with his silk handkerchief. Instead, Queen Elizabeth bent down from her chair to squeeze the young girl's shoulder in support. From the way the girl smiled back at her monarch he knew that there was a bond between the two. He would have to be careful killing this one.

When the play ended he moved quickly to find the elderly and nearly bald French Ambassador to demand an introduction. To his pleasure, he found Monsieur Andre Hurault-Sieur de Maisse, already at the Queen's side with the rest of the French delegation. Oblivious to Elizabeth's boredom, he pontificated on the great friendship between the French and English that he wished to continue. At Klaus's approach, her attention wavered and the ambassador was forced to recognize their visitor.

"Ah, Beaumont." de Maisse waved his hands to beckon Klaus to come forward. "Your Majesty, this is Monsieur le Vicomte de Beaumont. A most valued member of our delegation."

Klaus swept her his courtliest bow, flashing her a practiced smile that aimed to charm. "So it is true, the moon does outshine the sun," he said in flawless French.

The look of ennui on the Queen's face was instantly replaced with one of interest. "What is this, young man?" she replied back in the same language.

"You are truly the goddess, Diana, reborn, Your Majesty." Klaus knew the Queen would never refuse a comparison to the Goddess, Diana. The deity, associated with the moon, was known for her beauty, hunting skills and chastity. These were all qualities Elizabeth prided herself on.

The Queen offered him a coquettish smile. "You would flatter an old woman?"

Klaus took a step towards her. "Never. I speak only the truth." He laid a hand over his heart passionately. "If I lie, let me be struck down here and now before you."

Silence reigned as several courtiers crossed themselves and others looked on superstitiously. One did not tempt fate in such a manner, even jokingly. When nothing happened, he grinned widely, pleased at the spectacle he was causing.

"It seems you speak the truth, Monsieur le Vicomte and you shall live for another day," Elizabeth teased.

Then he saw her, the blonde vision from earlier coming towards them and his smile faltered slightly. She was even more beautiful up close. Tall and slim, her gold embroidered green velvet gown had a tight square cut bodice that flared at the waist into a voluminous skirt. Her skin rising above her décolleté was pale and milky, tinged with hints of pink and owed none of its color to the white lead paints and rouges that most of the women of the court wore. Instead of wearing her hair bound up in a wimple it lay loose over her shoulders and down her back with strands of pearls twined and braided in her curls to create a coronet. It was her eyes that captured him and sealed her fate. Like windows to the soul, her innocence shown as bright as stars on a clear night. Desire roared inside of him like an inferno, demanding a satisfaction that only her blood and death could fulfill.

The young girl, held his gaze for a moment, a soft flush blooming in her cheeks at his bold appraisal. Then shooting him a stern look as if chiding him for his boorish manners she held out a gold, jeweled goblet to the Queen with a curtsey, speaking up softly in English. "Your tisane, Your Majesty."

The Queen wrinkled her long, aristocratic nose and switching to English, "Give it to the dogs. Maybe they will drink it."

"You must take it. The royal physician made it especially for you. If you don't drink it he will take the most dreadful offense," she coaxed.

"Let him," scoffed Elizabeth.

"That will never do, Your Majesty. Just think of the revolt you will cause when people hear that even the Queen will not do as her physician tells her," the pretty blonde teased. "Everyone will follow your fashion and you will be responsible for all of England growing weak and unhealthy." She eyed Klaus and the French delegation with barely veiled disdain. "Then when we are at our weakest, the French will take their advantage and attack."

Monsieur l'Ambassadeur de Maisse shifted uncomfortably, unable to understand what she said, but very much aware that she was talking about him in some fashion. Like many Frenchmen, he had not been taught to sufficiently speak English since many in the French court considered it a backwater language.

"Surely not." The Queen's hand fluttered to her chest, her eyes mocking. "The French would never behave so ungentlemanly, would they?" While she spoke playfully in French, there was a hardness in her tone that caused all conversation in the room to cease.

As the ambassador waved anxiously for the interpreter to come forward and explain the Queen's meaning, Klaus fought the urge to laugh. With a single comment the young girl before him had managed to undue an entire evening's worth of diplomatic niceties.

The blonde held up the cup once more to the Queen. "Please, You Majesty?" she pled and Klaus realized that this was not a mere duty for her. She was generally worried about the consequences if her monarch did not take the drink. He turned his eye to the Queen, quickly assessing and at last seeing what the others did not. The yellow-tinted skin she masked with white paint, the tremor in her left hand that she hid in the folds of her skirt and the slight irregular beat of her heart. She was not well. She had maybe five years at the most left.

"You're as bad as a fishwife with your nagging, Caroline," the Queen grumbled, yet she took the goblet offered, draining it with several swallows.

So that was the girl's name. Caroline. It was a unique name and when spoken was as melodious as Caroline herself. He wanted to whisper it in her ear, roll it over his tongue intimately again and again until it brought a blush to her cheeks.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Caroline's eyes sparkled with laughter, but she bowed her head obediently when she took back the cup. A curl drifted loose from her coiffure, falling seductively against her cheek. Clenching his fist, Klaus fought the urge to touch those errant strands of hair, feel their softness between his thumb and forefinger, before tucking them at last behind her ear. He didn't realize he had been staring, until he heard the Queen chuckling.

"Do you enjoy the Volta, Monsieur le Vicomte?" Her Majesty asked Klaus in French. "With your strapping, young limbs, I assume you are an excellent dancer." The Queen cast a sly look in Caroline's direction. "Don't you think so, Lady Caroline?"

"I have never had any complaints, Your Majesty," Klaus answered in the same language, his lips curving into a smirk at the look of annoyance on Caroline's face.

Caroline gave the Queen a forbidding look, yet she answered her sweetly in French, "Maybe his partners are too polite to complain."

"I think a test is in order." Her Majesty gestured for Klaus to step forward. "Monsieur le Vicomte de Beaumont, my goddaughter, Lady Caroline Forbes, happens to love the Volta." The Queen grinned widely at her goddaughter, clearly pleased with her meddling.

Klaus could hardly believe his luck. He did not believe in God, but it seemed fate had favored him. He would not need to hunt this prey. It had been delivered to him on a silver platter by royal command. He swept Caroline a bow speaking in his politest French, "Lady Caroline would you give me the pleasure of partnering me for the Volta."

Caroline's whole body vibrated with displeasure and it gave him perverse satisfaction that he should have so profound an effect on her. He knew she would have already refused him outright if it weren't for the Queen's blessing.

"I would be honored," she answered in his language.

The Queen clapped her hands together eagerly. "The Volta!" The crowd of courtiers that had surrounded them quickly partnered up for the dance and those not wishing to participate grouped themselves in the corners of the room. The Queen, now past her dancing days, returned to seat herself on her throne.

The music began and Caroline turned to hand off the empty cup she was still carrying to the group of the Queen's handmaidens behind her and he heard her exclaim in English, "Upstart French frog! I shall dance with him if only to prove that a Frenchmen could never dance better than one of our own good, English gentlemen."

Klaus bit back a laugh. She had no idea he spoke and understood English. She had assumed, like the Queen and everyone else, that he spoke only French.

He held out his arm, his palm upturned for her to accept. With a tight smile she placed her hand in his. The second her skin touched his, he felt it, a burst of flames that set him on fire. With a small gasp, her hand withdrew from his, as if she had been scorched and he wondered if he truly was burning. Caroline turned her head to look at him, her big blue eyes wide with wonder and he knew he would have to kill her quickly. No one should ever have this kind of power over him. Slowly she returned her hand to his and he walked her the head of the line of dancers.

Once more Klaus swept her a bow, his gaze intent on her face, leaving her no choice but to gaze back at him as she dropped into an elegant curtsy. Again, they joined hands, moving together to perform the intricate dance steps.

"Must you stare at me so?" Caroline asked in exasperated French.

"When one is as beautiful as you, yes." Klaus drawled in English.

"Well, stop it!" She snapped. At his words, she slowly blinked, her cheeks reddening at the realization that he hadn't replied in French. "You speak English."

He smiled, flashing his dimples at her embarrassment. "Oui, my Lady."

"You heard me then? What I said?"

"I have been called many things before, but never an upstart, French frog," he teased and Caroline blushed even more.

"You must forgive me, Monsieur le Vicomte." She lowered her eyes, her lashes like black lace against her skin. "You won't say anything to the ambassador? I would not wish my foolish words to embarrass Her Majesty."

The dance steps changed and he released her hand so she could circle him.

Klaus touched the tip of his fangs barely hidden with his tongue. "It shall be a secret between us that we take to our graves."

Caroline offered him a smile as brilliant as the sun. "You are too kind."

"It is easy to be kind to you." To his surprise he realized it was true.

"You are not French are you?" She asked, cocking her head to the side thoughtfully as she completed her walk around him.

They joined hands once more and again the heat in her touch jolted Klaus. "Why do you say that?"

"Your English is too perfect and while you speak excellent French you do not have their mannerisms, that air about you."

"You mean I do not act like an upstart French frog?"

Caroline laughed and once again he was enchanted by the sound. "No. Tell me of your family? Where you are from?"

Klaus became still, his face-hardening and his smile stiffened. Did she suspect something? Looking into her upturned face he saw no guile, only natural curiosity. Still, he struggled to answer. He thought of his family, his mother - her blood wet and shiny on his hands, the look of rage in Finn's eyes when he daggered him. Then there was his unnatural father whose entire existence was focused on hunting and killing him. While he still spoke to Kol and Rebekah, he worried if he turned his back on Elijah for even a moment, he would join Finn in eternal slumber.

"Calais," he said abruptly. It was the most plausible location. There were still English settlements there, though the land had been lost to the English in Mary's reign. As for his family, he would pretend he had never heard the question.

He knew as soon as he spoke that somehow she had sensed his conflicted feelings from the compassionate and thoughtful look she gave him.

"Forgive me, I didn't mean to be impertinent," Caroline said gently. "I understand what it is like to have lost family." She squeezed his hand with what he could only imagine was sympathy.

"You understand nothing," Klaus snarled. That he should have her pity was infuriating. Humans were not supposed to feel sorry for him; they were supposed to fear him. For her presumption he would make her suffer, beg for her life, before he allowed death to release her.

"You wouldn't know this, but I have been a ward of the court since I was 10. My father died in France in service to the Crown and my mother served as lady in waiting to the Queen until she was killed during a royal hunt. So you see, I recognize the anger and sadness that grief brings."

The music changed tempo and he stepped forward, roughly encircling her tiny, corseted waist with one hand in front and the other in the back above her hip. Caroline followed, placing a hand on his shoulder. So close to her, he could hear the rapid beat of her heart, see her pulse in the light blue vein in her swan-like neck. Her fragrance, a mixture of roses and lilies, surrounded him and his body tightened painfully. Klaus wanted not only her blood, but her body as well. He had never known such a dark lust before and he hated it. His want overwhelmed him and in frustration he yanked her tightly against him. A small gasp escaped her lips and her fingers dug into his shoulder as he lifted her high into the air.

Klaus lowered her slowly, until her mouth was a breath away from his own. He wanted to ravish her lips, kiss her until she was speechless, until he had driven every thought out of her head. At the same time, he wanted to plunge his fangs so deep into her neck he no longer would know where he ended and she began.

"You go too far, my lord," Caroline said breathlessly.

"I don't go far enough, my lady."

At his words a shiver ran through her slight form and the blue of her eyes deepened to that of a stormy sea.

Inhaling deeply, Klaus attempted to cage the emotions she brought out in him. He needed to reassert his control of the situation, but it was like she had bewitched him. The dance continued and Klaus lifted Caroline once more, only this time he was gentle.

"I should apologize, my lady." He swung her in the air again in time to the music and when he lowered her, he held her gaze, willing her to see the truth. "You are right. I have lost family and the grief of it possesses me still. I realize you were trying to be kind, but I am not used to such compassion and generosity."

"No, it is I who should apologize. My tongue runs away from me at times. It was most improper of me to pry."

The music reached the last refrain of the dance and Klaus took Caroline's hand and together they began the promenade that signaled the end of the dance. Time was running out. Within minutes he would have to return Caroline to the safety of the Queen. He needed to get her alone or he feared that it would be days before he would be able to get this near her again. He had to have her tonight.

"Tell me you don't feel it too?"

Caroline shyly tipped her head. "I don't know what you mean."

"You lie and not very well." Klaus ran his thumb over the inside of her palm, knowing the affect such a delicate caress would have, but what he had not counted was how this touch would affect him. It stoked the fire that already burned inside him and left him yearning for more. "There is something between us."

"My lord, I —"

The musicians were bars away from the final notes of the song and Klaus was frantic to keep Caroline with him. "Where can we go to be alone?"

Caroline stiffened and she would have thrown off his hand had he not sensed her movement and grasped it tightly. He knew he had offended her, so he rushed to charm her and set her at ease. "I mean no insult to you. I seek only minutes, an hour of your time." Klaus turned his head to look at her and trapping her eyes with his, he deepened his voice. "Give me a chance. Let me know you away from the suspicious eyes and gossip of the court."

She looked uncertainly to the Queen and then back at him and he moved in closer to her. Already his pupils were dilating, his mind focusing on harnessing the power he needed in order to compel her.

Then with a flourish, the song finished and Klaus bit back an oath as the room erupted with applause and his concentration was lost. Courtiers who had watched the dance from the sides flooded the center of the room. Shutting out the noise and commotion, he prepared to attempt compulsion once more.

"My lady Caroline!"

Caroline startled at hearing her name called and Klaus was sure he had lost when he saw a short, squat, woman dressed in black widows garb with a starched white ruff around her neck bearing down on them. Then to his shock, he felt a tug on his hand.

She led and he followed, as if they were being chased as she weaved in and out of the crowds until they reached the doors that led from the presence chamber into the great hall. Caroline stopped at the threshold and turned to look back at the Queen and Klaus sensed her hesitation, the gravity of the decision she was making.

"My lady Caroline," the woman called out again, running towards them as fast as her thick feet would allow her.

Klaus was sure she meant to return to the Queen when with a mischievous laugh she took of running. Their feet flew over the white marble floor. They passed palace guards stationed at various strategic places in the great hall and Klaus was quite ready to shed blood if they so much as stopped them. Normally, he would have relished the idea, but there was too much to risk tonight. It quickly became apparent he had nothing to worry about because as they passed the Queen's guards, they smiled; some of them even waved at Caroline. They came to a set of open doors on the left that led outside and Caroline quickly stepped through them and rounded the corner. She stopped abruptly, flattening herself against the outside stone wall and he followed suit.

Breathing hard, her chest rising and falling, she turned to him and held a finger to her lips. Her face and neck flushed pink above her tight bodice, her eyes bright and shiny, her golden curls a mess about her shoulders and she had never looked more beautiful. He wanted to kiss her, possess her mouth with his, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. Not when the siren song of her heart pounding in her chest and her blood pumping furiously in her veins was enough to make him lose control.

Footsteps slow and plodding echoed down the grand hall. "Have you seen, Lady Caroline Forbes?"

"I'm not sure which way she went, Mistress Blanchard," one of the Queen's guards replied gruffly.

There were a few pants and then a voice that Klaus now knew was Mistress Blanchard's spoke again, "I was sure she came this way."

"If she did, she is gone by now." Metal armor clanked as the guard shifted his position against the wall. "If I see her, I will tell her you are looking for her."

"You do that," Mistress Blanchard replied sharply.

At the sound of her receding footsteps several of the guards broke into laughter.

Caroline moved, motioning for Klaus to follow her and he did right into the darkness of the night. The full silver moon, high in the sky, lit their way to a stone path hedged with bushes. Now that they were at last alone, he thought of seducing and killing her now, but the idea held little satisfaction. He was curious to see where she was taking him, what would happen next. They retraced most of the steps that they had taken down the great hall outside until they were close enough to the Queen's Presence Chamber that he could hear the strains of music coming from the open windows. At last, they stepped through an iron gate that swung open at the lightest touch from Caroline and they were in a garden. The heavy scent of roses perfumed the air and hundreds of candle lit lanterns hung from the trees, swaying lightly in the breeze. On large oak planked tables refreshments were laid out and waiting for the evening's guests.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Caroline asked wistfully.

The roses, the silver moon and the glowing candles all disappeared as Klaus looked into her eyes shining as bright as the stars. "Yes," he murmured.

"The garden…it is the Queen's favorite." She moved away from him shyly and he followed with predatory grace as she walked nervously among the plants. "The roses were planted by the Queen's royal mother and they are most delicate. They must be pruned twice yearly and Nat, that is the head gardener, he covers them whenever there is the slightest bit of frost in the air. He complains incessantly about how much care they take, but he knows all their names and he speaks to them as lovingly as if they were his children. I think —"

Caroline's aimless talking abruptly stopped as he touched his hand to hers, lifting her fingertips to his mouth. Her eyes became huge in her face, her lips parting at this simple kiss. As practiced at seduction as he was, even he was taken aback by the touch. Flames leapt inside of him, spreading burning heat through his limbs.

"You are too bold, my lord," she whispered as she withdrew her hand from his.

The loss of contact, her warmth, left an ache inside of him. Klaus considered compelling her so he could have his way with her, but the thought left him strangely cold. He was enjoying their dance of seduction too much to end it now "Am I? Shall we speak of the weather then?" He looked up to the sky, peering intently at the clouds. "Do you think it will rain tomorrow, Lady Caroline?"

Caroline giggled at his sudden formality and took a seat on one of the marble benches that adorned the garden. "I think we can be more familiar than that."

"Then let's talk about you." Klaus seated himself next to her. "Tell me about Mistress Blanchard and why she was chasing you."

"She is one of the Queen's ladies and I fear her goal in life is to make all of us miserable," Caroline answered with a huff. "Her Majesty put her in charge of chaperoning the younger ladies of the court and she takes her job duties very seriously. I have no doubt she had an unpleasant task for me tonight. She delights in making me miserable. She even punishes me for the slightest infractions. Can you believe last week, I was a few minutes late for chapel and she had me read aloud the book of Matthew for an hour on my knees?" Caroline paused for a moment, her cheeks reddening at her confession and before he could answer she rushed on, "I can only imagine her glee had she caught up with us. Thankfully, the Queen's guards hate her as well for she has had their pay docked for the most ridiculous things. Father Leonard says she offers an opportunity to learn patience and compassion, but I would rather not know such virtues if it means having to be nice to her," Caroline paused and peeped through her lashes up at him, "I'm rambling, aren't I? That is another character trait that the good father thinks I need to work on."

Klaus chuckled and the unfamiliar sound startled him. He couldn't believe it, but he was utterly enchanted. How was it possible that such a slip of a girl could so effortlessly entertain him? He felt an odd fluttering in his chest, a tingle of warmth in the place where his heart used to lay. That wasn't supposed to happen. Couldn't be allowed to happen.

With a finger he lifted her chin up, forcing her to look deep into his eyes, deep enough she could see his power, feel his compulsion. "Lady Caroline, allow me to kiss you."

She slowly blinked as his power took effect and when her eyes opened again he saw his own desire reflected back at him. Lowering his mouth to hers, excitement raced through him. Her lips were lush and sweet beneath his. He hungrily pressed another kiss to them, opening his mouth to slide his tongue into her velvet heat. Caroline tasted of sunshine and honey and the effect was intoxicating. Boldly he stroked her tongue, fiercely mating his mouth to hers. His craving for her instead of being slaked by the kiss was only further enflamed. He was insatiable with need for her.

Caroline made a small sound and clutched his shoulders and Klaus was suddenly obsessed with the need to see her passion, her desire for him on her face. He opened his eyes only to find hers tightly closed, her lashes dark against her pale skin.

"Open your eyes," he commanded.

She was still as death in his arms, her eyes glassy and dazed. He wondered if she could see into his mind. See how he wanted to lift her skirts, thrust his hips into her and plunge his fangs into her neck. He knew it would terrify her, but he told himself he didn't care. Unsettled by these thoughts, he let his instincts overtake him.

Sweeping her hair from her shoulders, Klaus parted his lips to suckle on the taunt skin of her neck. He kissed and laved the flesh, until he could hear and feel the drumming of her heart beat faster and faster with each touch. Then he lifted his head to blow cool, air over the now highly sensitive skin. The fragrance of her passion-laced blood mingled with her awakening arousal in a scent that left him weak. He couldn't hear, couldn't see. He knew only his need for her.

Raising his head, he curled his upper lip back to expose his fangs. Instead of attacking, he paused to look once more into her face. She stared up at him with the fear of a lamb going to the slaughter. Gone was the essence of what had drawn him to her. He couldn't hear her laughter, see her kindness and compassion or feel her light. She was just like any other of his victims. The wrongness of it struck him hard and fast and he couldn't bare the sight. He swooped in to pierce her neck with his teeth only to find himself instead breathing hard against her milky, white throat. He wanted to take her without any thought or control, but she deserved so much better than this. So did he.

Caroline was a treasure, the corruption of her innocence and light best savored slowly. Not taken quickly from her like she was a common back alley whore. He would take his time with her, introduce her to the erotic delights to be found in the flesh and when he was at last bored, then and only then, would he kill her. Pleased with his decision he captured her terrified gaze, hoping she understood the reprieve, the gift of time he was giving her. His blue eyes blackened as he tapped once more into his powers. "It is time for you to go back to the Queen. You will remember only our conversation here in the garden."

Caroline blinked, the glaze in her eyes clearing as she looked around her. "Monsieur le Vicomte? I must get back to the Queen."

"So soon?"

"Yes." She rose to her feet, shaking her heavy skirts out. "If Mistress Blanchard hasn't tattled by now she will soon and I do not want to recite more of the Bible on my knees."

Klaus stood to walk her back to the great hall. He wasn't about to have her fall prey to any other dangers that might be lurking in the night. "Tell me when we can meet again?"

"I don't know. I hunt with the Queen tomorrow."

"I will be there.

"It requires an invitation, my lord," Caroline said doubtfully.

Klaus held out his arm for her to take. "If you will be there then so will I."

Together they walked back the way they had come until they reached the doors that led back into the great hall. Before Caroline had a chance to enter, Klaus caught her hand in his and raised it to his lips. He watched through lowered lids, her skin slowly flush from her décolleté to her cheeks when his mouth touched her fingertips. "Until tomorrow, my lady."

As she walked down the grand hallway back to the Presence Chamber, Klaus noted with delight the way she held the hand he kissed to her lips.

With the departure of Caroline, the past slowly faded, giving way to the present. He could once more hear the music of the minuet floating in the air and feel the warmth of the crackling fireplace. Lifting his glass of cognac, Klaus toasted the beautiful girl in the painting. "Soon, Caroline. Soon you will remember everything and you will be mine at last."

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><p>Thanks to my wonderful reviewers klaroline, wizziewoo123, lovetvtomuchxo, klausLOVEScaroline, klaroline fan, Fallendarkangel693, maevelin, QueenDMS, ElisebethVE, Miss Hanmyo, SharkGurl, arabella, hellodaydreamer, luvit81 and StefanxKlaus14.<p>

I hope no one minded the flashback, but I think it is important to show the past and how it ties into the present.

Also to klaroline, I would have responded to you in a PM if you had left a logged review, but since you didn't I will reply to you here - I am sorry that you find Klaus a little dark. I think that it is more true to his nature and in character to portray him as at least a bit dark. I feel it is important to remember that he is vampire and a killer and his attraction and obsession with Caroline isn't going to turn him into a puppies and rainbows kind of guy. At least not in this story. I hope you will keep reading, but I understand if you would prefer not to.

Reviews and criticism are very much welcome.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N Thank you to my incredible beta, ElisebethVE.

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><p>Caroline studied her image in the mirror that hung over her dresser in her bedroom. Frowning, she ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to bring order to the loose blonde curls that fell over her shoulders. If anything, her primping only seemed to make things worse so she focused a critical eye on her makeup. To her satisfaction, her eyeliner and mascara were perfectly applied and her lips glimmered with only a hint of gloss. She had been tempted not to wear any makeup up at all just to make it clear to Klaus how little this date meant to her, but her entire being bristled at the idea of not looking her best. Looking good, desirable even, was to her almost the equivalent of donning armor before a battle. It gave her a certain confidence. Something she desperately needed when dealing with Klaus. With a final frown at her hair, she gave up and flopped unto her bed.<p>

Unfortunately, that action only served to bring her whole room into focus, forcing her to recognize just how much danger she was in. Surrounding her on every available surface were huge bouquets of roses and lilies, their perfume heavy and rich in the air. Lying on her bed, she felt as if she had been entombed, his floral offerings her burial shroud. Like most girls, she normally loved receiving gifts of flowers from admirers, but this was no mere present. Klaus had once more violated the sanctity of her bedroom, a place where she should have felt safe, in order to deliver a message. He had access to her whenever he pleased and she had no way to keep him out, no way to protect herself. She couldn't even manage to wake from her sleep when he invaded her room. She knew Bonnie would do a spell to revoke his entry into her house if she asked, but she worried he would retaliate. She did not fear for herself. It was her friends and family she worried would face his wrath.

Not only had he left the flowers the night before, he had also left directions as well. Written in his bold handwriting on a piece of fine linen stationary was - _Dress casual, Klaus._ As if she was going to dress up for him. Still, she hated that she was essentially heeding his orders by wearing a pair of worn blue jeans and a white silk camisole with a thin light blue shirt over it. Looking at her alarm clock on the nightstand next to her bed she saw that it was just a few minutes to 8:00. She had minutes of precious freedom left, a chance to dream of Tyler before her life was overtaken by Klaus. Closing her eyes, she willed Tyler's face to appear before her. She tried to picture his smile, the way his eyes would soften just before he leaned in for a kiss, but every time she saw him, Klaus would appear too. With a sound of frustration she pulled her pillow over her head. She was so worried about what to do about the Original he was now intruding on her sweetest thoughts and memories of Tyler.

The ringing of the doorbell had her raising her head with annoyance. Of course, Klaus would be right on time. Grabbing her matching dark blue leather purse and shoes she ran downstairs, stopping in the kitchen to quickly to scrawl a note to her mother that she was at Elena's. She knew that her friend would cover for her. At least until she found out she was spending time with Klaus. Caroline wanted to broach the subject with her, but Elena had been so caught up with her own Salvatore drama that she hesitated to add to her friend's worries. It really was better that she dealt with the whole Klaus situation on her own anyway. The last thing she needed was for Elena to involve herself in this mess.

"I'm coming!" she shouted as Klaus rang the doorbell once more.

Reaching the door, she paused, her hand on the handle. Panic burst in her chest, igniting her body's natural instinct to run when faced with danger. She wasn't sure what she feared more, the vampire hybrid that stood behind the door or the effect he had on her. Either way it was enough to leave her paralyzed.

"I can hear you, love."

Caroline clenched her fingers tightly around the door handle, but she couldn't seem to make them work. If only she could run, find a place where even sociopathic hybrids couldn't find her. Somewhere she would be safe. Only she knew that even if given the option she wouldn't be able to leave. There was too much holding her here and really she had no choice but to let the monster in that waited for her outside. So she opened the door.

Klaus stood in the doorway, the slowly setting sun framing him in shadows. She expected that he would be irritated at having been forced to wait for her, but his eyes, ever the barometer of his moods, were as calm and bright blue as the sea. Catching the faint smile that tugged at his lips she felt herself relax the slightest bit.

She knew she must be staring, but she couldn't look away. There was just something about him that every time they met she felt the need to memorize him as if this might be the last time she ever saw him again. Tonight he wore a gray colored button down shirt, covered by a black wool jacket with military buttons and low-slung dark blue jeans that hugged his narrow hips and muscular thighs. His hair was slightly mussed and to her horror she found herself wanting to run her fingers through it, smooth some order to the curls. He must have caught some of what she was thinking and feeling because he chuckled, a deep, throaty purr that brought heat into her cheeks.

"I need to lock the door," Caroline said lamely, turning around eagerly, anxious to shut him out of her mind at least for a moment. Throwing a last look at the inside of her home, she realized with an ache in her chest that the place was no longer her shelter or her safety net. Now, instead of being a haven, it had become the place her dad had breathed his last breath, somewhere she went through the motions of life, pretending for her mother that she was still the average teenager. Locking the door behind her, Caroline turned to see Klaus looking at her intently.

"You're upset about something," he accused coolly.

She forced a smile. "Not at all."

Klaus took a step forward, to gently slide the back of his hand over her cheek in a caress. "I always know when you are lying."

His touch sent chills, tingling up and down her spine and when his hand fell away, she felt it's loss keenly. How did he always know when she was lying?

"Is that some hybrid power of yours? Reading minds?" she asked with annoyance. "Because I am not upset. I just want to get this date over so I can enjoy the rest of my evening."

Klaus stiffened, his eyes now as hard as flint. "Tread carefully, Caroline. Since I know you are hurting I am willing to overlook your rudeness."

"I am not hurting." She declared, barely veiling her hostility.

"Then, if you are perfectly fine, lets continue this date so you can enjoy the rest of your evening," he practically spat.

Even though the last thing she wanted was to go on this date, she hated that she was being so awful. She supposed even evil hybrids had feelings. So taking a deep breath, she pasted a smile on her face, determined to be better company. "So where are you taking me?"

At the conciliatory tone in her voice, he relaxed. "It is a surprise."

"A surprise?" Caroline felt a sinking feeling. The last thing she liked anymore was surprises. There had been too many unpleasant ones lately.

"A good one," Klaus assured her. "I promise." He stepped aside then and she got her first glimpse of his car. It was silver and sleek and looked like something out of a movie. She had never seen anything like it before. "It's a 1929 Rolls Royce Phantom."

"Who even drives a car like that?" The answer hit her swiftly. A thousand year old vampire hybrid with more money then God at his disposal.

Klaus hand touched her lower back lightly, propelling her forward. "Anyone with taste," he declared.

Caroline waited as he held the door open for her. That was one thing in Klaus's favor. Unlike the high school boys she was used to, he was ever the gentleman. Sliding into the Rolls, she was instantly struck by its luxury. She sank into the buttery soft leather seats, facing a dash that had been made out of some rare wood. Looking out the windows, she wasn't surprised to see half the neighborhood peering out their windows at them. It wasn't every day someone saw such an antique car, let alone one parked at the sheriff's house. While Tyler had a nice car, it was nothing compared to this.

Klaus went around to the other side of the car, climbing into the seat next to her. When he started the car she expected a loud roar, but instead it was a soft elegant hum.

"She goes from 0-60 in 4.7 seconds," he said proudly.

"She? How do you know it is a girl?" Caroline teased.

"Anything this beautiful, this exquisite, has to be a girl," Klaus stated matter-of-factly. "She has seen so much, but she still runs as perfectly as she did the day I purchased her. Rebekah and I used to have so much fun taking her out in the evenings to the clubs. I even taught her to drive in this car. She was a surprisingly good driver."

The image of Klaus teaching his sister to drive was strangely endearing and Caroline felt her heart melt a little at this confidence. Not enough to change her mind about the girl, considering her bloodthirsty vendetta against Elena. As they drove out of Mystic Falls and jumped on the interstate, she got nervous once more. Was it possible Klaus was taking her to some remote area to kill and dump her so no one would ever find her?

"I suppose you couldn't give me a hint as to where we are going?"

"Let's say it is a place where we can be totally and completely alone."

His answer did little to inspire confidence. She wanted to tell him to turn the car around and take her someplace public. Spending time with alone with him was like playing with a cobra and she wondered what was wrong with her that there was a small, dark part of her that was exhilarated at this flirtation with death. It had to be a vampire thing, she finally conceded. Something she was going to have to learn to control and overcome.

"Did you enjoy your gifts? You have yet to thank me."

She had to think for a minute before answering. How could she tell him that the flowers reminded her of funerals and the death of her current life? "They are very lovely," she said at last, cautiously.

The answer seemed to satisfy him for she could tell he smiled. "They are just a fraction of what I wish to bestow on you. You should appreciate my restraint."

An image of dead bodies and more stolen goods flitted through her mind and she was glad that it had just been flowers so far. "I do," she rushed to assure him. "Maybe you could consider delivering them in person during the day when I am awake?"

"Would you welcome my presence? Allow me to openly court you in your home?"

The idea of Klaus casually stopping by to spend time with her, watch a movie, eat junk food or do homework like she did with Tyler made her sick to her stomach. That kind of open access to her would have her mother running to the Salvatores for help and she didn't even want to contemplate their reactions. The situation between all of them was already a powder keg just waiting for a match.

"That's what I thought," Klaus replied grimly at her silence.

Caroline glanced at him, noting the way his hands tightly gripped the steering wheel, how his jaw clenched.

"I am to be your dirty little secret."

Was that hurt she heard in his voice? She didn't want to believe it. How could he be hurt? He was the one forcing her to spend time with him. There was nothing for her to say that wouldn't make things worse between them so she held her tongue and stared out the window watching the landscape change to rural countryside as they got further and further away from her home. After what seemed like hours, but was probably forty-five minutes at the most, Klaus exited the interstate and drove unto a bridge that seemed to stretch forever. It was getting dark and the setting sun reflected bright red and orange in the water beneath them. At the end of the bridge there was a huge wrought iron gate and a large yellow sign with black lettering proclaiming that they had reached private property and no trespassing. The sign seemed practically ridiculous considering that there was no way for a human to get past the gated entry.

"Um, I think we need to turn around," Caroline said with a hasty look around them. "I really don't want to get in trouble for breaking and entering. Not that I haven't broken the law before," she paused her in confession to give Klaus a guilty look. "I know I seem like a total goody two shoes, but I have this whole dark vampire thing going on now and my mom will be so mad when I get caught and I almost always get caught and then I will make her look bad with her being the sheriff and all." She really hoped she was getting through to Klaus. Caroline was worried about whoever must live past this gate and the cops they would probably call once they realized that she and Klaus were trespassing. Plus, she didn't want anyone to get killed tonight.

Klaus turned to look at her, his eyes bright with amusement. "I promise we aren't breaking any laws." He flipped down the visor in his car to reveal a remote. With a click of the button the gate smoothly slid open. "I own this place."

"Wait." Caroline looked down at the water beneath them that seemed to surround the land in front of her. "Is this an island?"

"It is called Chopawamsic and yes, it is an island."

"Seriously? You own your own island?" Caroline continued, not even waiting for him to answer, "Of course, you do. You own a car from when my grandparents were kids and a 200-year-old mansion with a ballroom in the middle of Mystic Falls. So really, why not an island?"

Klaus chuckled at her rant as he drove through the gate and into the forest of trees that threatened to choke out the driveway. The sun disappeared as they drove under the foliage. Caroline craned her neck glancing from the front window to the side window, trying to get a good view of her surroundings; but all she could see was shadowy shades of green. At last they pulled through the woods, the driveway ending in a circle right in front of an old, white Victorian gingerbread house that faced a large sandy expanse of beach. They must have reached their destination because Klaus put the car in park, shutting off the engine. She was so busy taking in the view that she barely noticed as he left the car and opened her door for her.

Stepping out of the Rolls Royce, she was embraced by the already cooling, damp evening air and the smells of forest, sand and water. Except for the muted calls of a few birds, the chirping of crickets and the gentle lapping of water, it was eerily quiet. The whole civilized world seemed to have disappeared, leaving only her and Klaus.

"It's peaceful, isn't it?" He asked, his voice jarring against nature's natural music. "I like to come here to think. For some reason this place always manages to soothe me no matter how frustrated or angry I am."

"It's beautiful," Caroline replied, choosing not to think about the anger and frustrations that brought him here.

He lifted his head to gaze at the stars just now appearing in the sky. "In over a thousand years hardly anything has changed here. There is comfort to be found in such constancy." Klaus looked down at her earnestly. "Do you have a place like this?"

"An island, with a gate to keep everyone out?" she teased. "No."

"So where do you go to find peace?"

Did she have a place to go? The old Caroline would have said her house, but too much had happened in her home to find any comfort there. Maybe Elena's place? No, her friends house was as tainted with death as her own. At one time, when she was transitioning it had been the Salvatore's. With Stefan's help she had found a fleeting peace there, but it hadn't lasted. Maybe there was nowhere left for her anymore. No place she could feel at home and comforted. Sadness wormed its way into her heart and she felt it grow heavy within her chest. No. She was not about to have a pity party and cry right here in front of Klaus.

In a brush of warmth his hand touched hers and when he twined his fingers in hers she let him.

"This could be your place too," he offered quietly. "I could get you a key to the gate and you could come whenever you pleased, when you needed to be alone. I wouldn't interfere."

Caroline looked up at him in surprise. She understood the enormity of what he was offering her and what it would mean if she accepted. It would create a connection; a relationship of sorts between them and that couldn't be allowed to happen. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand from his and the loss of his warmth against her skin left her with an empty ache. "No, you can keep your private island all to yourself along with the bracelet, flowers and drawings. You need to stop trying to give me things. When will you get it that I don't want anything from you?"

Klaus raked his hands through his hair. "But you do, love," he argued coldly, a cruel twist to his lips. "You want me to leave your precious friends alone and because of that I hold all the cards. The only thing you have to bargain with is my very misguided attraction and interest in you and even that is starting to wane."

She wanted to retort with something angry and smart, something that would take him down a notch, but he was right so she held her tongue. She was handling this all wrong. For better or worse he was obsessed with her and she would be foolish not to try to use it to her advantage. What she barely acknowledged, what she could never tell him, was how dangerously intoxicating it was for her to be near him.

"Can we start over?" Caroline asked, flashing Klaus her most beguiling look. The one she used with great effect on the boys at school. "Klaus, I would love it if you would show me your island."

He stared at her, his eyes as unfathomable as the darkening night sky.

Caroline took several steps towards the Victorian house. "Did you ever live here? I always wanted to live in an old house like that." She turned to look back at him, but he stood as still as statue, his face a stone mask. It scared her. Had she gone too far at last with him? Lost him? "Please, Klaus," she pleaded, hating the way her voice betrayed her fear.

A slow smile spread across his face, until it reached his eyes. "How could I ever refuse you?" With a single stride he reached her side, his hand lightly touching the small of her back as he guided her towards the house. "No, I never lived here. I had the house built to host parties before the bridge was here, back when you had to get here by boat. We hosted a few gatherings back in the 20's, but Rebekah never cared much for the place. It is too isolated for her and it reminded her too much of the past."

As they walked to the house, she could see that it needed a new coat of white paint. While it hadn't fallen into disrepair, it needed some attention. "I can't imagine building a house to never live in. It must be so sad and lonely," she said wistfully.

At her words, Klaus stopped to look at her strangely.

"For the house," she attempted to clarify. "I know it is crazy, but sometimes houses seem like people, full of dreams. When this one was being built it must have been so proud and happy to be so beautiful. It probably imagined happy times with families, parties and children and instead it has been left to slowly decay." Caroline looked down at her feet completely embarrassed at the crazy thoughts she had just shared. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It was silly."

Klaus tipped her chin up with a finger so he could look into her eyes. "Don't ever apologize for sharing your thoughts, Caroline, no matter how silly. I want to know everything about you and that includes your theories on the emotions of houses," he gently teased. "Although, I do think there is something to be said for your insight. The house is lonely. Maybe it needs a party, a chance to be seen in its glory."

Caroline looked at the dark, shuttered windows and pictured them full of light, the rooms of the house filled with laughter and life. "Yes, I think the house would be very happy then."

"Then I will have a party and you will be my first guest."

"Klaus—."

He touched a finger to her lips, silencing her. "Don't think about it now. I still have so much to show you."

Night was almost upon them as they walked around to the back of the house that connected to the beach. Caroline noticed that a large white canvas tent had been set up in the sand. Underneath it was a table set for two with fine china and crystal and what looked like hundreds of glowing candles, their light beckoning them forward. It looked like a setting from one of the romantic movies she so adored watching and she couldn't help but be touched.

"You like it?" Klaus asked and the naked vulnerability she heard in his voice had her answering the only way she could.

"It's perfect," she whispered.

He met her gaze shyly. "That isn't your only surprise."

Instead of taking her down to the tent on the beach he led her to the far left side of the house where there was a small outbuilding, possibly a garage. As they walked closer she heard the soft nickering of a horse.

"There are horses here?" Caroline asked in amazement.

"Just for tonight. I had them brought over for you."

"Them?"

Klaus entered the small building that Caroline now knew was a stable. There were four stalls and fresh, sweet smelling hay littered the floor. Peering through two of the wooden gated stalls were two beautiful thoroughbred horses, one black the other brown, their velvet noses reaching out to be petted.

"Caroline meet Napoléon and Joséphine."

Only Klaus would have named his horses after a deposed French Emperor and his mistress turned wife. Caroline thought as she reached out hesitantly to touch the black one with a silver star on its forehead. "They are gorgeous. Which one is this?"

"That would be Joséphine. She is very sweet and gentle. Very much like her namesake."

Caroline nodded over at the sleek brown horse, Klaus was currently stroking. "And Napoléon?"

"He very much would like to think he rules the world."

Joséphine lowered her head and Caroline bravely reached out to pet the horse's silky ears. "They are such beautiful creatures. When I was a little girl I used to dream of riding horses, but a hobby like that was too expensive for my parents. It broke my heart when Elena got to go to riding camp and I didn't."

Klaus walked over to Joséphine's stall, opened the door, handing Caroline the reins. "Tonight, love, is about making your dreams come true. You are going to ride Joséphine."

Caroline felt the leather reins slip between her fingers, forcing her to grasp them tightly. "I can't do that."

"You can and you will. Just lead her out of the stable and I will help you."

Feeling a bit dazed, she did as she was told. As soon as the cool night air touched Joséphine she snuffed with pleasure and Caroline started to wonder if she was dreaming. The whole night, with every passing minute, was becoming more and more surreal.

"I am going to help you mount by lifting you up and into the saddle," Klaus said as he stood behind her. "All I need you to do is put your right foot in the stirrup."

Caroline felt his hands around her waist, preparing to lift her. "Klaus, I can't. I don't know how to ride," she panicked.

"You will remember, you can't have forgotten that," he murmured so softly she barely heard him.

"How can I remember something I have never done?" Knowing she had no choice, Klaus was going to make her ride Joséphine whether she wanted to or not, she put her right foot into the stirrup. She fully expected the poor horse to bolt, but Joséphine stood patiently for her as Klaus lifted her into the saddle. To her surprise her thighs moved to straddle the horse as if she had done this a hundred times before. With both of her feet firmly in the stirrups she looked down dizzily to find Klaus grinning up at her.

"You look magnificent."

The ground and Klaus looked so very far away to her. "I have no idea what I am doing," Caroline said shakily.

"You will figure it out," Klaus answered as he headed back to the stable, only to reappear with Napoléon. In a blur of movement he was firmly ensconced on the horse's back. Klaus made a clicking sound with his lips and Napoléon surged forward. "He wishes to run. Give Joséphine the lead and follow me," he called over his shoulder as he headed towards the water.

Caroline had no idea what to do, but her body seemed to understand what her mind did not as she flicked the reins for Joséphine to follow. To her surprise, it took only minutes for her body to feel as if it was one with the horse. She moved with the animal, finding a comfortable rhythm that seemed as natural to her as riding a bike. As her hair flew wildly in the wind, the air slashing against her face she knew a freedom that she had never known before. She felt all-powerful, as if anything she could ever wish for was in her grasp. Urging Joséphine to move faster, she at last caught up with Klaus.

He turned to smile at her and the happiness in his face stole its way into her heart, slipping past the shields she had erected to keep him out. She tried to memorize the way he looked in this moment, how his eyes crinkled in the corners, and the soft curve of his lips. She wanted this memory forever imprinted in her mind so when he was long gone from her world she would remember every wonderful detail.

They rode together along the shore, the water occasionally splashing up from the horses flying hooves to spray them. Caroline couldn't remember the last time she had felt so carefree, so light, like she had outraced her troubles, leaving them behind her in the sand. She wasn't sure how long they rode, but eventually they reached the bridge they had driven in on and she looked up at the concrete structure as they flew beneath it. When they had circled the entire island, bringing them back to the house, Klaus pulled his reins in signaling her to do the same.

"I knew you would ride as if you were born to it," he said proudly.

Caroline reached down to pat the side of Josephine's head. "It isn't me. It must be Joséphine."

Klaus dismounted and walked over to her. "No, Caroline it is all you." He held out his hand and reached for her and she knew exactly what to do. Swinging her leg over the side of her horse she jumped right into his waiting arms. He held her above him, his hands splayed around her waist as he slowly lowered her to the ground. The graceful, sensual movement was so oddly familiar she wondered if she had foreshadowed this exact moment in a dream. Bonnie would have called it some kind of déjà vu, but it felt like so much more than that. Caught in his embrace, she felt she was revisiting an old, beloved memory. The thought was quickly lost as she realized just how close she was to him. She had only to lean in the slightest and she would be kissing him, tasting him. Her undead heart fluttered in her chest and her whole body thrummed with the reverberations. Caroline had never known such sinful temptation and before she could succumb she turned her head away. A heavy sigh wavered in the air between them and then Klaus released her as her feet hit the ground.

"Thank you, Klaus. That was amazing."

"I am pleased you enjoyed my surprise." His voice was low and throaty and it curled around her like a velvet caress.

Caroline tipped her head up to look at him, yearning for the kiss she knew she shouldn't have. "I have never had a nicer one."

The moment between them was broken as Napoléon whinnied, stamping the ground with his hoof.

"Unlike me, Napoléon has yet to learn patience," Klaus said sardonically. "He is anxious for his dinner." Gathering Joséphine and Napoléon's reins he started to lead them towards the stables. "I am going to go get them settled and then I will be right back."

Caroline smiled at Klaus and the retreating horses. Riding Joséphine had been the most exhilarating thing she had ever experienced and she owed it all to Klaus. How could he have known she would take to riding the way she did? Maybe it had something to do with her vampire abilities. She still couldn't believe he had arranged the whole thing just because he had caught her admiring a horse the other day. How could he have known or realized how much she had dreamed of riding a horse just like this? What she had expected to be a horrible evening was instead turning out to be one of the best, most wonderful dates she had ever had. This made it all the more imperative that she remain on her guard, forcibly supressing all the emotions and passion he aroused in her. She needed to remember the evil this man had wrought, how Elena and the Salvatores were trying to find a way to kill him. He couldn't be allowed to live and she couldn't allow herself to come to care for him.

A cool night breeze slid over her and she shivered, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Since their ride clouds had rolled in, blanketing the light from the silvery moon and stars. She could smell a hint of rain in the air and she wondered if their evening was about to be ruined by storms. She hoped it was. It would make everything so much easier. There was a whisper of air against her back and she knew Klaus was behind her, but she didn't turn around; instead she gazed out at the open water.

"Are you cold?"

Caroline shook her head. "No."

"Then let me show you what I have prepared for you before it starts to rain."

They walked together towards the tent, the flickering candles inside now a beacon in the dark night. Their footsteps were heavy in the sand and when Caroline stumbled, Klaus reached out to grab her, his arm wrapping around her waist to steady her. She should have complained when the arm stayed around her, but she didn't. Instead she let herself luxuriate in this small innocent touch, convincing herself how little it meant when compared to so many other greater sins she could be indulging in with him.

Stepping under shelter of the tent, Caroline was amazed by how it looked like they had entered a formal dining room, only one that was open to the night air on all sides. There was a carpet covering the sand and a huge mahogany sideboard with silver domed platters seated on top of plate warmers, next to a table for two. Caroline was most struck by the beauty of the china and crystal set out for them. It was like looking at a piece of art. She had never eaten off or used anything so fine before. Even the Lockwood's didn't dine so fancy. Klaus pulled out one of the chairs for her to sit on and she noticed how even that was elegant. The chair was all delicate carved wood with what looked like a hand embroidered silk cushioned seat.

"You never do anything by halves, do you?" Caroline asked playfully. "You can't even do an outdoor picnic like everyone else."

"Where is the joy in that?" Klaus picked up a bottle of champagne that had been left chilling in a silver ice bucket on the mahogany sideboard. Moisture dripped from the bottle landing on the carpet. Caroline hated to think how expensive the rug must have been and how impossible it was going to be to clean the sand from it.

"Just so you know, this doesn't impress me. You could have had beer and pizza on a blanket in the sand and I would have been as happy."

Klaus looked up from the champagne bottle's label he had been studying. "That is because you have never experienced the luxuries and finer things in life. You have forced yourself to become content and complacent with the mediocre life that Mystic Falls offers when you were meant for so much more than that."

"Mystic Falls is not mediocre," Caroline threw back at him.

There was a pop as Klaus expertly pulled the cork from the champagne bottle. "It is when you have been to Paris, Rome, Tokyo, London, St. Petersburg, Edinburgh…shall I continue?" he asked as he poured champagne into two crystal flutes.

"My family and friends are here which makes this place more important and precious to me than any of those cities."

"For how long, love?" Klaus handed her one of the glasses of champagne. "I know it seems like life begins and ends here now, but you have an existence that will span hundreds of lifetimes. Do you really think that you will be content to stay here and watch as your friends and family grow old and die?"

Caroline clutched the crystal champagne flute tightly in her hand. This was the one subject she refused to ever think about. What would happen when Elena, Bonnie and Matt started to age and she did not? When her mother's heart at last stopped beating? What would be left for her then? "I will stay here as long as I can, as long as I am needed."

"Always so loyal," Klaus said sardonically, lifting his glass to toast her. "Then if you won't leave, I shall have to bring the world to you."

"You could go," urged Caroline, her expression serious. "Leave Mystic Falls and go back to those other cities with your hybrid minions and what remains of your family. I am sure Elena would be happy to supply you blood from a distance." Caroline hoped she could convince him. It was the perfect answer to everyone's problem. Elena, the Salvatores and her friends would be safe and so, she thought recklessly, would Klaus.

He looked at her with what was almost akin to pity. "If only I could make it that easy for you. No. I go nowhere without you and my doppelganger."

"Damon and Stefan will never let her leave and I won't go with you."

"Then I stay here and we will all have to learn to all get along then. If not, the Salvatores are easily taken care of. I have champagne older than them. Like this one for example." He flashed Caroline a wolfish smile before taking another sip of his drink. "This one dates from 1840 and is quite exceptional."

Caroline stared at the bubbly liquid in her glass. To think that it was at least as old as Damon and Stefan was overwhelming. It put everything sharply in perspective. She sometimes forgot how ancient Klaus was, how much he had seen and how little of a chance they had against him. Her eyes lifted to his to find him staring at her intently.

"Drink, Caroline." It was not a request.

Lifting the glass to her lips, she felt the bubbles on her tongue before she tasted them. As the frothy liquid filled her mouth, she savored the sharp almost bitter taste with just a trace of sweet. It tasted like nothing she had ever drank before. The alcohol content was strong and she felt its affect almost instantly as it swirled through her.

"A toast then." Klaus lifted his glass. "To Rome, Paris and Tokyo and our journey to get there."

She wanted to change the toast. There would be no journey for them, but he was already waiting patiently for her to raise her champagne flute for him and when she did he clinked his against hers. Together they drained their glasses.

"I was going to prepare a culinary taste of France for you, but as you can see there is not a proper kitchen here." Klaus swept a silver domed platter from the sideboard to lay in front of her. "So I decided to stick with something safe." With a flourish he lifted the lid to uncover a plate of still steaming waffles.

Caroline's mouth watered at the sight of them. Even though they had been sitting on plate warmers this whole time they still looked flaky and soft in the middle with a crisp brown edge on them. They were prepared just the way she liked. "How did you know?"

"It was just a matter of questioning the waitresses around town as to what you normally ordered. I must say I do find it odd how often you order breakfast food at night," Klaus said, clearly pleased with himself.

She looked down at her plate as Klaus used a large ornate silver fork to spear several waffles and put them on her plate. "It is because of my dad. My mom often worked nights and one of the few things he could cook was waffles. They were simple and quick to make. I order them because eating them makes me think of my dad," she replied, her voice thick with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry about your father. We'll eat something else." Klaus rushed to remove the plate of waffles from the table, but Caroline stopped him, catching his wrist with her fingers.

"No. I enjoy honoring his memory this way."

Klaus let go of the plate. "Even after what he did to you? The torture he put you through?"

"He was still my dad," Caroline replied wistfully. "He thought he was helping me."

"My father wished me dead most of my life," Klaus said, the gold in his eyes crackling with anger. "His idea of helping me was to rid the world of me and my siblings."

Caroline gazed up at Klaus and saw through his anger to the pain that lay beneath. "Do you have no happy memories of him?"

"No."

"Not even when you were growing up?"

Klaus cocked his head to one side, regarding her thoughtfully. "Do you really wish to know?"

She touched her hand lightly against his. "Yes."

"When I turned 16, for my birthday my father made me a sword of fine metal. It was the first thing he had ever given me and since it was made with his own hands it was all the more special. My whole life I had thought that my father hated me so I rejoiced that at last I had proof of his care. That night there was an attack on our village by the werewolves and the next day he took my brothers and me on a hunt to find and kill some of them in retaliation. We were ambushed in the woods and one of the warriors took me on, shielding himself behind a tree. I swiped at him with my sword and it clashed against the wood and shattered. Do you understand what that means?"

She shook her head.

"My father had made me a faulty sword on purpose. He wished me to go to battle and have my weapon break, ensuring my death at the hands of another. He didn't want to be held accountable by killing me directly. When my sword broke in two I looked into his face and I will always remember the look of hatred in his eyes, his anger that his plan hadn't worked. Of course, later on he had no problem trying to kill me directly with his own hands," Klaus said flatly.

"I'm sorry, Klaus." Caroline blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. She should have never asked about his childhood or his father for it had humanized even more the monster before her.

"I won't have your pity," he snarled.

"No. No pity, just my empathy."

At her answer, he shook his head slightly, the anger that simmered in him dissipating with the action and when he spoke, his tone was calm and even, "You must be hungry. For your waffles, I had my chef whip up fresh cream for you. No syrup. Just the way you like to eat them."

Caroline watched in fascination at the transformation from angry hybrid to patient waiter as he placed a crystal bowl of thick whipped cream in front of her along with a platter of fresh blackberries, raspberries and strawberries. Then he refilled her champagne glass and taking some waffles for himself he seated himself across from her.

Suddenly starving, she dribbled cream over her waffles covering them artfully with the colored berries. She noticed he was waiting for her to begin eating an anxious look on his face and it was endearing to her that he should care so much for her approval. Taking a bite, she let out a moan of pleasure. The taste was heavenly.

Klaus having received confirmation of her satisfaction began to eat himself. Caroline noticed that like everything else he did, he even ate gracefully. Not like Matt or Tyler, both who tore into their food like it was the last meal they were ever ate. No, Klaus was methodical as he sliced through the waffles, spearing the pieces and fruit with one elegant stab before lifting them to his mouth.

Feeling funny at watching him eat, she drained her champagne and turned to her own food. Picking up a ripe and tender strawberry, she swiped her tongue over the tip of it, catching the juices as they fell from the fruit before at last taking a bite. At a strangled sound from across the table she looked up to find Klaus watching her with a predatory look in his eyes. Her face became hot as she realized how that might have looked to Klaus. "Everything is delicious," she said breathlessly.

"I am pleased," he said with a slight bow of his head.

There was a flash of lighting and the world turned white right before a crash of thunder cut through the air. Then the sky split open, releasing a flood of rain. It came down fast and furious, battening at the tent's roof.

"It seems the weather has cursed our evening," Klaus shouted to drown out the rumbles of thunder coming from the sky.

Caroline shivered as the cold rain started to blow in the sides of the tent. The wind kicked up and their shelter began to shimmy and shake. Klaus pushed his chair back and she stood as he came to her side.

"We will need to make a run for it."

"What about your things? They are going to get ruined in this weather."

Klaus looked at her like a parent does a child when they have said something ridiculous. "They are things." Then he grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. "Let's go before it gets worse."

She had no choice but to follow at his side as he pulled her from the shelter of the tent and into the raging storm. While she knew she could run fast, he was so much more powerful that he was forced to slow down so she could keep up to him. It didn't take long for them to make their way back to the driveway, but by then they were completely soaked.

"We'll go inside to dry off and wait for the storm to pass," Klaus said as he stopped in front of the house. He opened the door and it slid open easily at his touch. It was dark inside, the only light coming from the streaks of lighting that lit the sky. Fumbling a little, Klaus at last found the light switch against the wall, flipping it, but the house remained dark. "The storm must have taken the electricity out. If I remember right, there should be candles and matches in the pantry. Stay here."

Caroline did as she was bid, taking in the room. They must be in some kind of parlor or living room. It was large with a rounded turret filled with windows in one corner and in the other a large fireplace. Under huge white sheets was what looked like a sofa, love seat and several chairs. There even appeared to be a grand piano, its lid open and ready to be played. A flickering glow of light appeared from the hallway, casting the room in shadows and creating ghosts of the white-sheeted furniture.

"This should work," Klaus said as he lit a path into the room with a silver candelabra. He began yanking sheets off the furniture and clouds of dust filled the air. Uncovering a small side table he set the candelabra down. "I can't believe how long it has been since I've been here."

Shivers racked Caroline's body as the cold at last hit her and her teeth chattered. Her clothing was soaked and clung to her like a second skin and her hair hung like a wet curtain around her face.

"Cold? Let me see if I can start a fire. There should be some dry wood." Klaus kneeled in front of the fireplace and striking several matches he threw them at a pile of kindling, coaxing a flame to life. He turned around, gesturing for her to join him in front of the fire.

Caroline stepped next to him, lifting her hands to the meager warmth coming from the fireplace. "Do you always keep your houses equipped like this in case of emergencies?"

"Always. I have many enemies and I never know when I am going to need a safe haven."

She wondered about these enemies. Were they family and friends of his victims seeking retribution or were they like her and her friends, just trying to stop him from further staining the world with death and violence? Caroline shivered again and she wasn't sure if it was from the cold.

Klaus rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm her. "We should get you out of these wet clothes."

"You're crazy if you think I am going to take my clothes off," she retorted, moving abruptly away from him and the warmth of the fire. "And don't bother to use the excuse of my catching pneumonia as a ploy to see me naked. I'm a vampire. It won't hurt me to be cold and wet."

"Do you think I need an excuse to get you naked," he asked, his voice deepening to a purr. "If I wished I could have you out of your clothes in seconds, writhing with pleasure beneath me on the floor."

Caroline swallowed thickly as she stared at him. His shirt clung to him beneath his jacket, outlining the hard muscles in his chest and to her shame she was realized she was thinking of exactly what it would feel like to have her body beneath his. "I wouldn't count on it," she retorted weakly.

He flashed his dimples mischievously like he knew what she was thinking before speaking, "There should be some old clothes of Rebekah's upstairs. Take the candles and go find something warm to put on."

"I am not going to wear Rebekah's clothes. I'm just fine," she scoffed even as a violent shiver racked her body.

"Go put something else on or I will do it myself," Klaus said mildly.

That was enough to have her heading up the stairs, candelabra in hand.

"First bedroom on the left," Klaus called out.

The door was open as Caroline cautiously entered Rebekah's room. Even here everything was shrouded in white sheets. Setting down the candles on a tall cherry bureau she opened the closet and was completely caught of guard by the row of evening gowns. She ran her fingers over the luxurious fabrics, indulging in the feel of silk, satin and chiffon. Pulling some from the closet she noticed that the dresses seemed to be mostly from the turn of the century through the twenties. Even though they were old, they had aged beautifully. Looking at the tags she recognized many of the Parisian house designers. One of these dresses alone was worth a fortune and Rebekah she thought jealously had a whole closet of them to wear as she pleased. With a sigh at the thought of such beauty belonging to her enemy she closed the closet. Pulling out the drawers of the bureau, she searched for something more comfortable and plain to wear. All she found were handkerchiefs, gloves and frilly delicate underthings that had her slamming the drawer with embarrassment.

"You're not dressed yet."

Caroline startled at the accusation. "There are only evening gowns to wear," she explained.

"So wear one." Klaus threw back the closet door, walking through the dresses with his fingertips until he found one that seemed to please him. He held it out to her. "Rebekah never wore this."

Taking the dress, Caroline moved to stand in front of the full-length beveled mirror that stood in the corner of the room. She held the gown up to her reflection judging the size and how it would fit her. The gown was from the twenties and floor length, sleeveless, form fitting and made of filmy, white silk and it looked like she could manage to fit in it. From the mirror she saw Klaus, looking at her.

"Turn around," she demanded.

Klaus chuckled, but he turned around.

Caroline carefully set the dress on the ground as she speedily slipped out of her soaking clothes. She left on her shoes to keep her feet warm and her bra and underwear, pleased that the white satin pair embroidered with pink bows wouldn't clash with the dress. The silk slid over her skin with a whisper and the touch of the fabric was decadent. Reaching for the back of the dress she tackled the tiny silk buttons. She managed two or three before she was forced to give up only to shudder moments later with pleasure when warm fingers brushed against the sensitive skin of her back. Like butterfly wings, Klaus's fingers fluttered up the back of her gown as he captured each button, putting them in their prison. Caroline stood still, heat pooling low in her belly, her whole body melting as the simple exercise of dressing became an erotically charged act.

Klaus put his hands on her shoulders, leaning in to murmur in her ear, "You look beautiful."

She stared at the woman in the mirror, her hair falling wildly around her shoulders, lips parted and eyes blazing with desire and she didn't recognize her. This wanton looking back at her couldn't possibly be Caroline Forbes head cheerleader, best friend and dutiful daughter.

"We need to get back downstairs," she said weakly, closing her eyes.

A searing kiss was pressed to her shoulder and she almost gasped as every nerve ending in her body tingled. Klaus caught her gaze in the mirror and the raw hunger in his eyes left her in turmoil. To be the object of such desire was exhilarating and scary all at once.

"You teach me patience," he growled, but he stepped aside.

Caroline grabbed her clothes from the floor, rushing from the room, her feet flying down the stairs until she was at last in front of the fireplace once more. For some reason, she felt safer away from the intimacy of a bedroom. She laid her jeans, shirt and camisole on the hearth in front of the fire to dry. Turning at the sound of Klaus entering the room, she watched as he tossed aside more sheets like he was searching for something.

"Fancy some music?" he asked as he uncovered an old phonograph with a crank, sitting on a table against the wall.

"Sure," she answered, figuring she would rather fill the silence with music than talk, which would only tangle her emotions up even more.

Pulling some records from a built in bookshelf, he must have found one he liked because he placed it in the phonograph, wound the crank and set the needle. It was a slow, moody jazz song with a female sweetly crooning. The needle scratched the record, evoking images of smoky nightclubs, bootlegged bottles of champagne and couples slowly dancing cheek to cheek. It was romantic, sensual and completely wrong for the distance Caroline wished to create between them.

Klaus took of his wool jacket, tossing it on the back of a tapestried sofa. "Dance with me, love?"

Caroline knew she should refuse, but the space between them crackled with lust, life and desire. Like a moth to a flame, the tides to the moon, she was drawn to him and she couldn't ignore his call. Besides her traitorous heart told her brain, it was after all, just one dance.

In a trance she moved towards him, her dress floating around her ankles. He held out his arms for her, clasping her right hand with his left, his other hand skimming her lower back. Once she was in his embrace, he pressed her tightly against his lean, muscular form and she became liquid. Klaus led and they moved together seamlessly as one.

They danced amongst the flickering light, creating swirling shadows on the walls, their footsteps making intricate patterns in the dust covered wood floor. Caroline tried to forget she was dancing with evil, a killer. Forget that she feared him and the things he made her feel, made her want.

"Look at me, Caroline," Klaus rasped.

She lifted her gaze to his, terrified of what he would read in her face. Caroline stared into his dark, blue eyes, mesmerized by the feral gold flecks illuminated by the firelight. She was drowning, falling into him. Klaus leaned in, his mouth a breath away, tempting and waiting for her. Caroline was reminded of Eve enticed by the forbidden fruit and knowing she had already lost the battle, she lifted her lips to his and fell.

His mouth swooped down, his lips moving silkily over hers with little languid brushes. It was beguiling, lulling and her lips parted with a soft sigh. Klaus deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping over hers and her hands reached up to clutch at his shirt and draw him even closer. Their bodies brushed together and white-hot flames, blazed between them. Now his mouth no longer coaxed, it demanded. She succumbed, falling deeper and deeper into his web of seduction. The kiss became frenzied, hard, and she felt like she had spent an eternity waiting for this.

Hands caressed her back and through the silk of her gown her skin grew hot and fevered. He pulled his mouth from hers only to trail kisses down the side of her neck. When he nipped lightly at the spot where her pulse had once beat a steady tattoo she thought she would explode from the heat that flooded her. She was losing herself to him with every passing moment and soon she knew she would no longer be able to bring herself back from the brink. Caroline forced herself to think of her friends, her mother and, last of all, Tyler. How could she betray them and everything they stood for like this? What she was doing was insanity and it must be stopped before it destroyed her. Gathering all her strength, all her will power she pushed herself from him. Stepping away from him she almost cried at her body's traitorous yearning to once more be in his arms.

"You can't do this!" Caroline cried. "You can't give me the most magical evening of my life and then kiss me."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not fair. You need to make with the evil, do some torturing and killing."

"Is that would you would prefer? Klaus's eyes sparkled with laughter. "It is rather last minute, but I am sure I could arrange something."

Caroline wanted to scream with frustration. This whole evening had her emotions so tangled in knots she worried she would never be able to straighten them out. "I am sure you could and that is why this," she paused to point at him and then back at herself, "this will never work."

"Even though I gave you the most magical evening of your life?" He took a step towards her. "Because this is just the beginning. A taste of what I have in store for you."

"Well, you have to stop."

"Why?"

"Because no matter how amazing your gifts are or how incredible all this is you are still the villain and — and I hate you."

She threw the words at him hoping to provoke his anger and get him to say or do something that would ruin the entire evening, but there must have been something in her tone that was at odds with her words. Instead of reacting with anger he smiled at her with what looked like tenderness.

Caroline wanted to slap that look off his face, but she didn't dare. "I want to go home. Now."

"Your clothes aren't dry yet."

Stalking over to her clothes she picked them up angrily realizing he was right. "I don't care."

Klaus pulled the garments from her hands. "I'll take you home, but I don't want you putting these wet clothes back on. You will be miserable wearing them."

"Fine." Without a backwards glance at Klaus she strode out the door. The storm outside was over, but in her heart and her mind it still raged. She waited with barely controlled impatience as Klaus opened the car door for her. Slipping in the seat she forced herself to stare straight ahead at the road the whole way back to Mystic Falls. This night had forced her to recognize how much she enjoyed Klaus's company, desired him even, and she wasn't sure she could handle this revelation. She was near her breaking point so she was relieved that he didn't try to talk to her as he focused on his driving.

It was after three in the morning when they pulled up in front of her house and, thankfully, her mother still wasn't home. Klaus turned the engine off and left the car to open the door for her and she glared at him.

"You don't have to walk me to the door. You can just go."

"Our date isn't over until I see you safely back in your house," he replied cheerfully not at all taken aback by her rudeness as he followed her.

Caroline pulled her key out of her purse and worked it into the lock, grateful when it didn't stick like normal. Opening the door she was startled when Klaus leaned a hand against it slamming it shut. "I am not going to kiss you goodnight," Caroline snapped.

"No, love. I think you already did that. Quite nicely I might add." At her sound of anger he smirked.

"I can guarantee it won't ever happen again."

Klaus leaned in and she was afraid he was going to attempt to kiss her, but instead he sweetly brushed a wayward curl off her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Pretend to hate me if it makes you feel better, Caroline, but we both know the truth. I am in your head and soon I will be in your heart."

With those parting words Klaus left her on the doorstep and, as he drove away, she bit her lip to keep from weeping.

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><p>Thank to my lovely reviewers Maiqu, JT Jones, laliela, Fallendarkangel693, Veronica, callmebluetoo, Ariel C. Rilmonn, ElisebethVE, Red Shagging Couch, Zoey24, tauruskch, Betseyjill, Calie1, twotoe, SweetyK, luvit81, Jess, maevelin, QueenDMS, LoveandWinning, RandomIsMe, hellodaydreamer and SharkGurl.<p>

I want to thank everyone for all the comments and alerts. I know it is cliche, but your reviews keep me writing. :)


	5. Chapter 4

Thank you to ElisebethVE for her flawless beta skills.

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><p>Klaus prowled into The Grill, wrinkling his nose in distaste as the smells of old fried food and cheap beer assaulted him. His eyes narrowed, as he glanced around the dark room, quickly sizing up with meticulous detail his surroundings and the people within. There were three exits, one through the kitchen, the front door and a fire and emergency exit along the right wall. Even this early in the afternoon the bar was filled with patrons, most of whom were human, except for a few of his hybrids and the vampire that sat at the bar smoothly tossing back scotch. As he stepped further into the room, several of his hybrid servants who were playing pool turned their heads to look at him, awaiting his orders. Klaus shook his head signaling for them to stay put. He was visiting The Grill for one purpose, to speak to a certain vampire who was as dangerous to him as an ordinary, pesky housefly. Unfortunately, this fly was blessed with supremely good luck and always managed to avoid getting swatted. Stepping up the bar, Klaus noticed that while the vampire didn't turn around to acknowledge Klaus's existence, Damon's whole body tightened with tension as if he was ready to attack at a moments notice.<p>

"Funny. It looks like there isn't a spot for you to sit. I would take that as a hint and move somewhere else," Damon said smoothly, tipping back his glass to take another drink.

With a graceful twist of his wrist, Klaus snapped his fingers. Instantly, the two clean-cut looking young men sitting on either side of Damon rose to their feet and stepped away from their bar stools.

"Sire?" One of them asked, lowering his head in respect.

"Enjoy your drinks elsewhere."

Simultaneously they picked up their glasses and moved to an empty booth close by. Seating themselves, they kept their eyes trained on their master.

Settling himself on one of the leather barstools, Klaus signaled for the bartender, taking a quick glance at her nametag. "Kathy is it? Kathy, dear, give me what he's having."

The young, blonde bartender dressed in jeans and a pink halter giggled and with a smile reached for a bottle of scotch from one of the top shelves.

Damon drained the rest of his drink, tapping the top of the glass for it to be refilled. "I'm honored you find me worthy of not just one, but two of your hybrid lackeys to keep me company."

"To my disgust, your wellbeing has become most important to me."

"Don't tell me you care?" Damon mocked, holding his hand over his heart.

Kathy set a glass in front of Klaus, filling it three fingers full before moving to refill Damon's glass.

"Me?" Klaus took a sip of the scotch, making a sour face as he set his glass back down on the bar. "Not in the least. However there are others around who seem to care quite a deal about you. Sadly, I have even been forced to agree to seeing you unharmed, at least for now."

"I'm touched, really." Damon replied with a smirk. "However, I have a feeling those hybrids are more threat than protection."

Klaus grinned widely, baring his teeth "What makes you say that?"

"Because I want to kill you?"

"Do you really think that you have a chance?" Klaus took another drink, trying not to grimace at the poor excuse for scotch he was drinking. It was a young brew at twenty-five years and it tasted as if the bar had watered it down as well. Leaning in towards Damon as if he was sharing a great confidence he lowered his voice to a dangerous purr. "In over a thousand years others more powerful and older than you have said the same thing and I have vanquished them all on by one. Take my advice and give up this foolish pursuit. You will not win."

"Listen," Damon barked, grabbing Klaus's arm. "I don't know what kind of deal you have struck with Elena, but I won't have her bargaining herself for my safety."

Fire leapt into Klaus's eyes, his fingers clenching with power barely held in check. "Get your hand off me before I use it to tie bows of your intestines," he quietly threatened. "And don't think to test me because I will do it. Even here in this very public place."

Damon scowled, clearly weighing his options, but in the end he must have realized Klaus meant every word because he released his grip. "Whatever contract Elena made for my protection is now null and void. Do what you will to me, but I won't have her risking herself for me."

"This has nothing to do with Elena," Klaus said coolly. It really was ridiculous. The Salvatore was so lovesick over his doppelganger that he didn't even fear anymore for his own safety.

"Then what the hell is this about?"

"Your good luck." A muscle twitched in Klaus's jaw as he fought off his desire to tear the younger vampire from limb to limb. "I need to make you understand how much of your life depends on the good opinion of one person. Someone whose kindness and mercy you have continuously taken advantage of. It is only due to her intervention that you are still walking the streets of Mystic Falls unharmed."

Damon lifted his glass, peering into the amber depths "And just who is it I owe my continued existence too? The very least I could do is buy them a drink."

"You owe her much more than a drink," Klaus snarled. "For what you have done to her I would deliver you to her in boxes wrapped up prettily with your skin."

"Awful bloody gift, don't you think?" Damon waved his glass of scotch in the air, the liquid sloshing over the edge of the glass to dribble on the bar. "So who is this mysterious benefactor? It wouldn't happen to be a certain blonde you have been sniffing around? Because Caroline would never make a deal like that for my life."

"I should rip your tongue out for even saying her name. You aren't worthy of even that honor," Klaus growled low in his throat. "And, yet, for some reason she sees value in your pathetic, pitiful life.

Damon drained the scotch that remained in his glass. "She would," he answered grimly.

"Yes," Klaus looked at Damon like he was something he had found stuck to the bottom of his shoe. "Caroline has an incredible capacity for forgiveness for those she believes are her friends."

"Well you can forget any understanding you have with her. I won't have her sacrificing herself for me." Damon leaned back on his barstool, opening his arms wide. "If you want to kill me go ahead and try. Give it your best shot."

Klaus turned his head and glowered at his drink. "Believe me, there is nothing I wish for more than your death, but that would hurt you. Something that goes against my bargain with Caroline."

"Hurt me? Well, if that is the case I believe you are hurting me now with your presence and that surely must void your contract. So Caroline is free," Damon said with a laugh.

Klaus put his arm around Damon drawing him close as if they were two good friends. Then snaking his other arm around the front of the vampire's torso he jammed his fist right into Damon's chest. The crunching sound of bone being shattered and flesh torn was easily covered by the eighties song blaring from the radio. Damon slumped like a ragdoll in Klaus's arms, all color draining from his face as a small trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his lips.

"You're drooling and while in polite company," Klaus chided with a small shake of his head. "Such bad manners. Clean yourself up."

Damon lifted a shaking hand to wipe the blood from his mouth.

"So, tell me, Damon, am I hurting you?"

"Yes," the vampire gasped.

Klaus squeezed Damon's heart tighter, relishing the wet squish of the organ in his hand. "I ask you again, am I hurting you?"

A strangled sound escaped Damon's mouth and Klaus squeezed more.

"No," Damon managed to gurgle as he swallowed back the blood that was threatening to spill out of his mouth.

"No, what?" Klaus asked in a singsong voice.

Damon's body shuddered around Klaus's fist. "No, you aren't hurting me."

"That's what I thought." Pulling his fist from Damon's chest with a sucking sound, he wiped his hand on the vampire's shirt. "Be sure to tell Caroline that if you mention this meeting. Spin it however you want, but if you think this was hurting you, you have no idea of the pain I could inflict on you."

Breathing in deep, hard breaths of air, Damon covered his open wound with his hand as it started to close. "You need to leave Caroline alone."

"That isn't going to happen." Klaus pulled a white linen handkerchief from his pocket, meticulously removing the remaining blood from his fingers.

"Elena, once she finds out, will never allow Caroline to make a deal for my life."

"I believe that choice is up to Caroline and it is far too late now."

Damon yanked his leather jacket tighter over his chest, half zipping it to cover the bloody hole in his shirt. "What do you mean it is too late? What have you done to Caroline?"

"Nothing like what you did to her if that is what you mean," Klaus replied, his voice low and menacing. "If I wasn't so honorable I would forget my pact with Caroline and visit on you the same treatment you gave her."

"Caroline knows — things are different now." Damon stopped to stare fiercely at his empty glass.

Klaus tapped his ear. "Is that an apology I am hearing? Unfortunately, it is too late and to the wrong person. Your little circle may have forgotten what you did to Caroline, but she never will and neither will I."

Damon swallowed as if he was parched and tapped his glass on the bar for the bartender to fill it up. "Caroline understands she was a necessary means to an end."

"So, she was a pawn in one of your many schemes?" The barely repressed fury in Klaus's voice was enough that the hybrids nearby looked up from their drinks as if awaiting orders to attack. "You will never touch her again, cause her any pain or even look in her direction."

Kathy chose then to wander back over with the bottle of scotch. "Can I top you off?" she asked, batting her lashes at Klaus as she finished filling Damon's glass.

"No, I am just about finished here." Klaus smiled at her brightly, his grin slowly fading as the girl walked away. Turning his head, he stared directly into Damon's eyes. "Stay away from her or face the consequences and trust me that they will not be pleasant."

Damon looked away from Klaus to gaze down at his drink thirstily. "Whatever you have planned for her, she is too smart for it. She isn't some silly schoolgirl you can trick into caring for you."

"I don't need to trick her into anything. You have no idea of the ties that bind us, the connection we share."

Tilting his head to the side, Damon stared contemplatively at Klaus. "You are truly insane."

"What is insanity, but another form of genius?" Klaus answered, flashing his dimples as he rose from the barstool.

"We won't let you have her. You understand?"

Klaus laid his hand heavily on Damon's back, leaning in to murmur in his ear. "You can't stop me. She is already mine."

Striding through the bar towards the door, Klaus could feel Damon's eyes boring a hole into his back, but he didn't even care enough to turn around. He had accomplished what he had come for. Damon had received his warning and now Klaus could justify hurting, even killing him if ever he overstepped himself and bothered Caroline in any way.

* * *

><p>Caroline groaned as Elena dragged her along the boulevard in the shopping district of Mystic Falls. She didn't know why she had allowed herself to get roped into her friend's plan of shopping away their troubles. The last thing she wanted to do was be lighthearted and frivolous, but Elena seemed to need that from her so she gave in. What Caroline really needed to do was think and try to process everything that had happened on her date with Klaus. Then again, maybe Elena did have the right idea after all and what she did need to do was to avoid the whole topic. Besides, when she really thought about it, nothing good could come of dwelling on her mixed emotions and feelings about Klaus.<p>

"What do you think of that dress?" Elena asked, pointing to a low cut silky red gown hanging off a headless mannequin.

Caroline peered into the display window in front of one of Mystic Fall's premiere dress stories. "It is a little slutty, don't you think?"

Her friend giggled and the unusual sound brought a smile to Caroline's face. "I was going to suggest that it was perfect for you. You should try it on. I am sure Tyler would love to see you in that," Elena teased.

"Maybe." Caroline couldn't help the wistful look that shadowed her face at the mention of her boyfriend.

Elena seemed to sense her sadness because she put an arm around her, pulling Caroline into a hug. "Have you heard from Tyler?"

"No." Caroline shook her head sadly. "I had hoped I would when my dad died, but he probably didn't even know about it or even had phone reception where he was."

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine how much you must miss having Tyler around. You two got really close before he left."

Realizing that her moping was defeating the purpose of the fun-shopping trip Elena had planned, Caroline patted her on the back. "It is okay. Really. He is doing what he needs to do and I support him."

"I know…but still."

"Forget about it. What do you think of the green mini dress?" Caroline pointed to the emerald dress another headless mannequin sported. "It would look perfect on you."

"It is a little short for prom."

Caroline's hand went to her forehead, her fingers wearily massaging her temples. "I can't believe I totally forgot prom was coming up. So that's why you wanted to go shopping."

Elena shook Caroline. "Do you have a fever? Are you sick? How can you have forgotten about prom? You are like the total queen of planning this stuff."

"I don't know," Caroline said with a weak smile, but she knew exactly why she had forgotten. Dealing with Klaus had completely torn her world asunder. How could she focus on school and prom when he was everywhere? All she could think about was his confident smirk, the low timber of his voice, his penetrating blue eyes, and the way they had sparked with fire right before he kissed her.

"Well, let's work on getting you a dress so you have one task out of the way."

"That sounds like a good idea. Although, I am not sure I want to shop here. The prices are always so crazy high."

"Let's just look," Elena coaxed. "Who knows we might find a great deal on something."

Caroline looked at the store doubtfully. This place was known for their overpriced designer clothing. Things were never on sale and living off her mom's sheriff salary she had never been able to afford anything there. However, she wasn't about to keep Elena from finding her dream gown so she moved to open the door. Her hand was halfway to the handle when she felt him, her whole body tingling at his presence. She knew without even turning around that he was behind her.

"Caroline," he purred her name like it was an invitation to sin. "What a pleasure to find you here."

"Klaus," Elena said, looking around anxiously.

Slowly Caroline turned around to find Klaus a foot away, his eyes fixed entirely on her. "What do you want?" She asked roughly. "Don't you need to be wreaking havoc and chaos somewhere?"

Klaus's lips curled into a hint of a smirk. "I seem to have reached my quota for the day."

Caroline laid a hand on her friend protectively. "So what? You are checking up on Elena? Well, as you can see she is perfectly safe with me."

"I have no worries on that account." Klaus regarded Elena with distaste. "I know you will put my doppelganger's safety over your own."

"Always," Caroline replied fiercely.

Klaus took a step closer to Caroline. "Do you think such loyalty will ever be rightfully rewarded? Or will it be taken advantage of?"

Elena glanced from Klaus to Caroline, her eyes wide and confused.

"That's the thing about friendships, you don't go into them expecting to be rewarded. Of course, that is not something I expect you would understand," Caroline said sarcastically.

At Caroline's words, Elena peered at Klaus as if she expected an outburst, when none was forthcoming she tugged nervously on her friends arm pulling her towards the shop door. "Caroline, we really need to get started on our shopping."

"So what are you shopping for?" Klaus asked and the genuine interest in his voice had Elena turning to gape at him.

"Prom dresses," Elena replied in a dazed voice.

Klaus lazily leaned his shoulder against the brick storefront. "So who is to be the big date for the night?"

Caroline could feel his gaze on her, commanding, daring her to look back at him, but she wouldn't do it. To look upon him, she was afraid she would succumb to his desire for a friendly conversation. She couldn't and wouldn't recognize the strange bond between them with Elena standing right there.

As if he was disappointed at her lack of response, Klaus turned to Elena. "Which brother is it to be? The earnest and mopey, Stefan or the wild and reckless bad boy, Damon."

Elena awkwardly shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her face wrinkled with tortured angst.

"I don't think Elena's love life is any of your business," Caroline retorted, at last lifting her eyes to Klaus's. "As long as she is producing blood, why does it matter?"

"I suppose it doesn't," Klaus acknowledged. "Then who is to be your date, sweetheart?"

Klaus's eyes boldly stared back at Caroline and as he waited for her response she felt the air shift around her, becoming heavily charged with some indefinable emotion. She didn't know how to answer. Her date was supposed to be Tyler, but thanks to Klaus he was now buried somewhere in the mountains fighting the Sire bond. Did Klaus know that? Was that why he was asking? She couldn't let him suspect the truth, but she knew if she said Tyler and she didn't show up with him at Prom, Klaus would wonder why he wasn't there.

"Tyler's not interested in going so Elena and I are going to go stag together, " Caroline said with a warning glance towards her friend. Elena seemed to understand how important that it was that Klaus not suspect anything about Tyler's absence because her friend nodded her head in agreement.

A pleased grin tugged at Klaus's mouth. "Trouble in paradise with my hybrid servant? It doesn't surprise me. He is nothing more than a small town boy with a small town life. No, you need someone older, more experienced with what life has to offer."

Caroline could sense Elena's shock at Klaus's declaration and she wanted to kick him. Here she was trying to keep his interest in her a secret and he was practically broadcasting it from the street corner. Grabbing Elena's hand she pulled her stunned friend towards the glass door of the dress store. "We really need to get busy if we are going to find a dress today. So if you will just be on your way," she said pointedly.

Klaus bowed his head slightly, his eyes never leaving Caroline's. "Of course. If I might make a suggestion, love, you look stunning in blue."

Now Caroline knew exactly what color dress she was definitely not wearing. Yanking the store door open she guided her speechless friend inside the shop without so much as a backwards glance at Klaus.

As soon as they were safely inside the dress store Elena immediately turned to Caroline. "What on earth was that about?"

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked with what she hoped was an innocent tone.

Elena gave her one of her stubborn looks, the one that always made Caroline spill. "Don't pull that with me. What is with Klaus and all that non-evil-Klaus talk? I swear he was trying to be friendly with us, with you especially."

"Probably fed on a nun today and was poisoned with niceness," Caroline grumbled.

"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed with a giggle. "But really, he was acting strange. Did something happen with him that I don't know about? You know how Damon and Stefan always try and keep me in the dark. I hate when they do that."

"I do too. You would think they would trust us enough by now to include us in their schemes." Even as she said it, Caroline realized that guiltily she was doing the same thing to her friend. But really, Elena could be so foolish sometimes that she almost needed to be protected. Moving towards a row of gowns hung on a circular rack in the middle of the store she ran her fingers through the silky fabrics. Pulling one out she held it out to Elena. "This would look great on you."

Elena cocked her head to the side, a warning look in her eyes. "Don't try and change the subject. What is going on with you and Klaus?"

Caroline shrugged her shoulders, trying not to feel bad at the fact she was about to try and lie to her friend. "I haven't got a clue." She forced herself to look straight into Elena's eyes confidently even though she wanted to stare at the ground in shame at her deceit.

"It just doesn't make any sense," Elena stated with a shake of her head, at last pulling her gaze away from Caroline.

"Well, that's Klaus for you," Caroline said cheerily. "Just your friendly, insane neighborhood vampire hybrid."

Elena crossed the floor to stand in front of the dresses on the rack. Pulling out one she fingered the decorative beadwork on the bodice. "Just be careful and avoid him. I don't like this change in his attitude one bit."

Caroline bit her tongue. She wasn't about to tell Elena that there was no way to avoid Klaus. That she had another date with him scheduled for tomorrow night after school. "Sure," she replied smoothly. Picking out a slinky green chiffon gown she handed it to Elena. "This would look great on you."

Elena carried it over to one of the mirrors that lined the back of the store. "You're right. I kind of like it. I think I will try it on."

At hearing those magic words, one of the store shop girls, an emaciated brunette in a tailored black sheath rushed over to help. Soon Elena had accumulated an entire pile of dresses of all the colors of the rainbow to try on. Caroline continued to rifle through the racks, glancing at the price tags of the ones that caught her eye and grimacing at the cost. Catching sight of a white dress from among the colored gowns she pulled it out from the rack and the skirt billowed to the ground. It was a beautiful dress, elegant in its simplicity. It had a plain silk, strapless bodice, but the full skirt was made of tulle and sprinkled throughout were hundreds of crystals that sparkled, capturing the light from the store and creating rainbows of light on the shop walls. Caroline held her breath as she held the dress up to her slender form. It looked like it would fit perfectly.

"Oh, Caroline. That dress is perfect," Elena cooed.

The brunette shop girl rushed over to take the dress from Caroline. "You have to try it on. It looks as if it was made for you."

"I don't know," Caroline murmured. She knew she probably couldn't afford it and if it fit it would only break her heart.

"Yes, you must," Elena encouraged as she pulled Caroline through the French doors to the lighted, dusty pink colored dressing room. Already in the corner there was a huge rack of gowns that were waiting for Elena to try on. The sales girl hung the white ball gown on a brass hook by the mirror.

"It is a custom made dress by a new and upcoming designer. I think you will be impressed by the quality of his work," The salesgirl said as she lifted the skirt of the dress to the light. "You will notice that each one of these crystals was hand sewn for the most effective placement to catch the light."

Caroline ran her fingers over the gown lightly. "I can tell. It's beautiful."

"Go ahead, try it on," the shop girl encouraged.

Undressing to a matching green lace matching bra and panties set, Caroline stood patiently as the dress was lifted over her head. With a soft swish the silk and tulle gown settled perfectly over her hips. Then with a rasp of the zipper the bodice tightened around her tiny waist. Caroline had been right, the dress fitted perfectly. Stepping in front of the three-way mirror, she admired the gown from every angle. The sparkles from the crystals floated among the tulle ballroom skirt like stars as she spun around, the dress floating around her ankles.

"You have to get it," Elena said breathlessly. "It is like it was made for you."

"It is not too much?" Caroline asked as she smoothed the skirt back into place.

Elena stepped forward, putting her arm around Caroline's waist. "I can't imagine a more perfect dress for prom. You will look like a fairy princess, which is entirely in keeping with the whole Enchanted Fairytale theme you picked last year."

"I had forgotten that." Caroline laid her head on Elena's shoulder. "That was back when I still believe in fairytales, before I knew what the darkness really hides."

"Don't you ever stop believing in those fairytales," Elena said sternly. "If you give up on those what hope do the rest of us have? No, you have your Prince Charming and maybe if you are lucky he will make it back for prom."

Caroline cleared her mind, picturing herself entering the school gym, her white dress swishing around her heels to find Tyler waiting for her. Only to her shame, instead of dark brown eyes, she saw deep blue ones instead. "Yes, you're right. I have the perfect prince in Tyler," she said firmly, focusing once more on the brown eyes. "So what about your Prince Charming?"

Elena ducked her head shyly. "I want to ask Stefan, but he still is torturing himself, about what he did. I keep hoping he will realize he wasn't really himself and not responsible, but he seems determined to punish me and himself."

"And Damon?"

"Damon is Damon," Elena said harshly as if that explained everything. "So what do you think of this dress?" She pulled away from Caroline to twirl around.

The purple dress Elena wore was almost as dark as an early evening starry sky and the bodice sparkled with black beading. Her friend looked dangerous, exotic even and Caroline remembered a previous prom and the pale pink poufy gown Elena had worn. Just like her she realized, her friend had changed. Pink, innocent, girly dresses no longer fit her. They had both been through so much. "You look stunning."

"I think I will have to get it." Elena lifted her hair off her neck. "Unzip me?"

"Sure." Caroline carefully unzipped the dress and then waited patiently for Elena to unzip her. Up until now she had avoided looking at the price tag on her dress, but she knew she had to have it. She deserved something so pretty and perfect after everything she had gone through. Plus, she wasn't even going to get the comfort of having her boyfriend there to dance with her.

Handing the dress over to the sales clerk, she took a chance and glanced at the tag and her jaw almost dropped to the floor. They wanted twelve hundred for the dress. While she had an emergency credit card with a four thousand dollar limit, she had never used it before. Well, she would just have to consider her happiness an emergency. It would take her forever to pay it off and her mother would probably freak out, but dammit her happiness was at stake.

"Will you be taking the dress then?" The shop girl asked with a bright, white smile.

"Of course she will," Elena called out as she worked on getting her dress down over her hips.

"I'm afraid I don't have a choice." Happiness surged through her at the thought of owning something so beautiful, so perfect and she clapped her hands excitedly. "Are you going to get the purple dress?"

Elena stepped out of her dress and moved to hang it back up on the hanger. "I think I will. I can't imagine I will find something better."

"Perfect," the sales girl said cheerily. "I will just go ring these up for you up front."

Caroline quickly dressed feeling a little let letdown as she put her jeans and her green button down shirt back on. She had felt so pretty in the dress she almost wanted to wear it out the store. Grabbing her purse, she waited for her friend to get dressed. Just as Elena was pulling her t-shirt over her head, there was a chirping from the floor where her friend's purse lay. Elena wrinkled her nose in annoyance, but she reached for her phone, pulling it out of her purse.

"I have to take this. It's Damon calling to check on me and if I don't answer he will hunt me down," Elena said with a huff.

"Go ahead. I'll be out front."

Walking to the front of the store, Caroline stood patiently at the counter as the shop clerk hung a garment bag over the sparking white gown. Finished with her task, the brunette rang up the price tag.

"How will you be paying today?" the sales girl asked.

Pulling her wallet out of her purse Caroline deftly removed her credit card and handed it over. The store clerk glanced at her card one time and then a second, her brow furrowing before she handed the credit card back. "Miss Forbes, the dress has already been paid for."

"Wait? What?"

"The dress has been paid for," the clerk said politely. "Can I interest you in any other purchases today?"

"I don't understand? What is going on?" Caroline asked her voice shrill.

The shop girl leaned over the counter. "There was an account opened in your name yesterday and all purchases you choose to make are to be covered."

Caroline shoved her card back at the clerk. "I think there must be a mistake. I never opened any account."

"No. It was a nice, young man. Very handsome, too. With such a foreign name," the shop girl said dreamily. "He opened an account for a Miss Caroline Forbes with all purchases to be billed to him. I can't imagine having such a generous boyfriend. You are a very lucky girl."

"I don't think so," Caroline sputtered. "There will be no account and no purchases billed to anyone but me."

The sales clerk shot her a disapproving look. "Well, that is no way to treat your boyfriend."

"He is not my boyfriend." Caroline slammed her credit card on the counter in emphasis. "And I will pay for this dress."

"Take my advice and accept the gift."

Elena strolled into the room, a slight frown on her face. "Is there a problem?"

"I was just explaining to Miss Forbes —"

"How much she thought I would love the dress," Caroline interrupted before the girl could continue. She couldn't have Elena finding out that Klaus was now buying her clothes. If she knew that, Caroline would be forced to tell her everything and she didn't want to explain let alone be interrogated about Klaus. "Are you ready to check out, Elena?"

"Um, sure."

Caroline forced a smile on her face as Elena paid for her purchase hoping she could hide from her friend that inside she was fuming. When she saw Klaus she was going to take her dress and shove it down his throat. No, wait. Her dress didn't deserve such poor treatment. No, she would pull cash from her card and throw it at him. She wasn't going to be beholden to him for anything more than the dates she owed him.

"Ready, Caroline?"

She nodded as the sales clerk handed her the garment bag that contained her dress.

"Do come again, Miss Forbes," the sales clerk said eagerly as she followed Elena and Caroline to the door.

"Will do," Caroline said through clenched teeth, even as she vowed never to step in the store ever again.

As Caroline and Elena made it back to their cars, her friend turned to her. "Thanks for doing this with me. We haven't shopped like this in forever and this was just what I needed."

At Elena's sweet tone, Caroline felt tears come to her eyes. It had been a long time since they had done the whole girly shopping thing. They really did need to do this more often. "I had a great time and I think I needed it too." What she wisely left out was that her wonderful time had ended the minute Klaus had once more interfered in her life. She was going to have to do something about that. She just wasn't sure what.

Waving goodbye to her friend, Caroline got into her car determined that the next time she saw him she would give Klaus a piece of her mind. Make it even more clear to him that she couldn't be bought, not even when the gift was another beautiful gown that made her feel like a princess.

* * *

><p>Caroline unlocked the door to her house, gently hanging her garment bag on a hook by the door before making her way into the kitchen. Her whole body coiled as tightly as a spring as she sensed the wrongness in the air around her. Someone was here.<p>

"Your boyfriend came to see me today," a voice drawled from behind her.

Whirling around, Caroline was surprised to see Damon sprawled out on the couch, his long, lean legs crossed nonchalantly. As angry as she was to find the vampire in her house, she was eager to know more about her boyfriend. "Tyler's back in town?"

Damon held up two fingers. "No, this would be boyfriend number two. You have been a very busy girl, Caroline."

Fear gnawing at her insides at what he had found out about her and Klaus, she turned to walk back into the kitchen. She wasn't going to have this conversation with Damon. Not now. Not ever. She needed a drink, to eat. "I don't know what you are talking about."

Unfolding himself gracefully from the couch, Damon followed her into the kitchen. "I think you do. You've been hiding something from us, haven't you?"

"My life is my business, Damon. Stay out of it," Caroline retorted as she pulled a blood bag from the fridge.

"Anything that could affect Elena is my business."

Damon stepped towards Caroline and she was mortified when he leaned in to take a long sniff at her.

Caroline swatted at him. "Ewwww. What are you doing?"

"You smell like him," Damon said flatly.

Color flooded Caroline's cheeks. "That isn't possible. I showered twice." When she had gotten home from her date with Klaus last night she had attempted to scrub away every touch, every caress he had given her as if she could erase his hold on her with soap and water. The exercise had proved futile for her, as she had fallen asleep to the memory of his kiss, the taste and touch of his lips on hers.

"It doesn't matter. I can smell that original, hybrid all over you." Damon focused his gaze on her, his eyes narrowing as she looked away. "What have you been up to, Caroline?"

"Nothing." Caroline took a sip of the B positive blood from the blood bag in her hands, grateful for the distraction. She focused on the tangy, iron taste and the sensation of the thick drink running down her throat. As her hunger pains eased she felt herself grow more powerful with each sip she took and better able to deal with Damon.

The vampire jumped up to seat himself on the kitchen counter. "You realize that he doesn't use blood bags or even Bambi to feed like Stefan used too. He likes them pretty and living so he can drain away their life with each swallow he takes."

Caroline shuddered and lowered the blood bag from her lips setting it on the counter. "It isn't what you think."

"Then explain it to me," Damon barked. "Tell me why you are spending time with the enemy? Have you so easily forgotten what he has done? That he steals your best friend's blood from her?"

"No," Caroline cried. "I haven't forgotten. How could I?"

"Then what the hell are you doing? With Tyler gone, if it was a good screwing you needed I would gladly have obliged. Just like old times."

Grabbing the nearest thing she could, which happened to be a wood napkin holder Caroline threw it at Damon as hard as she could. Paper napkins filled the air, floating to the ground like snow. "You are disgusting!"

The vampire easily caught the napkin holder with one hand. "So I have been told many times. But that doesn't explain why you are whoring yourself to Klaus."

"I am not whoring myself out. Don't you get it? I am doing this for Elena, for you."

"Why? I have given you no reason to martyr yourself for me," Damon replied with a cynical smirk.

Caroline looked at Damon in disbelief. Did he really not understand how much he meant to Elena? How destroyed her friend would be if anything happened to him? "Maybe not, but for some reason Elena sees goodness in you, and if she can, then there must be some somewhere. "

"Trust me, there is none."

Studying Damon, Caroline could tell from the tightening of his mouth, the steely look in his eyes that he truly though that was the truth. "I don't believe that."

"Then you are just as foolish as Elena."

"Maybe I am, but I won't be held accountable for your death." Caroline knelt on the floor to pick up the napkins that now littered the linoleum floor.

"My life is not your responsibility," Damon snapped. "So what have you promised Klaus in return for my existence?"

Caroline paused in her collection of the white paper napkins, setting down the pile of napkins she had already gathered on the floor. "Nothing important. It doesn't even matter."

"It matters to me." Damon jumped down from the counter, stalking over to her. "Have you welcomed him into your bed? Is that why I smell him all over you?"

"Of course not. How can you even think such a thing? I love Tyler."

"Really?" Damon questioned sarcastically. "Because from where I stand your motivations seem very questionable. If you loved him so much you wouldn't be spending time with his Sire. In case you haven't forgotten, Klaus was the one who made him a hybrid in the first place, forcing him to leave."

Rushing angrily to her feet, Caroline shoved Damon in the chest sending him sprawling backwards into the cupboards. "Of course I haven't forgotten. How can I forget? I think of Tyler everyday and the horrible transitions he is going through to break the Sire bond."

"So you haven't forgotten Tyler." Damon pulled himself up from the floor, steadying himself before adjusting his leather jacket over his chest. "Then what is Klaus getting out of this deal if you aren't sleeping with him?"

"Not everything is about sex."

Damon slowly blinked, his mouth curling into a sneer. "Don't be a fool, Caroline. That freaky hybrid thinks he has a connection with you and that doesn't mean romantic walks on the beach followed by sweet kisses in the back of his daddy's car."

Caroline opened her mouth to refute Damon. So far that is exactly what it had been between Klaus and her. He had been gentle and sweet with her and when he had kissed her…but she couldn't think of that now. Not with Damon staring at her like she was a specimen he was studying under a microscope.

"Is that the game he is playing?" Damon snorted and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess you have to give the old creep credit. He knows exactly how to manipulate a high school girl."

"He is not manipulating me," Caroline objected. "I made a deal with him and I am following through. I have two dates left to give him and then it is over between us." Lowering her eyes, she attempted to bury the pang of regret she felt at that detail deep within herself.

Damon threw back his head and laughed. "You have got to be kidding me. Klaus bargained my life for a couple of dates with you?"

Caroline bristled, fisting her hands to keep from slapping Damon. "What is so funny about that?"

"Who knew it was blonde, baby vamps that did it for him. He really is obsessed," he replied with a snicker.

"And just what would you bargain for a date with Elena? The two of you could start a support group for hopeless obsessions," Caroline huffed.

All traces of Damon's amusement vanished at her words. "I am not obsessed with Elena," he bit out. "I am just looking out for her wellbeing."

Caroline rolled her eyes and leaned down to finish picking up the napkins on the floor. "Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."

Damon silently joined Caroline shoving a pile of napkins towards her. "So Klaus really is giving me a free pass because of a few dates with you?"

"Yes, and for that he is leaving us alone. All he asks is that I spend some time with him," Caroline said scooping up the rest of the napkins.

"Any perverted kinky things? I bet a vampire that old has done some freaky stuff."

Caroline set the napkins back in their holder. "No, nothing like that. I think he is lonely. He just likes to talk." she said lamely hoping that Damon wouldn't pick up on what she was leaving out. The intimacy of their talks, the little touches, the way they seemed to fit so perfectly together.

"About himself, I'm sure."

"Of course, that is something you wouldn't happen to understand now, is it?"

"Nope." Damon gave her a sideways look. "You know, Caroline, we could use this to our advantage. Any information you could uncover about him and his weaknesses would only work in our favor."

"I…I don't know." She thought of their kiss, the hidden smiles he seemed to share only with her. Could she do that? Betray him after the magical date he had given her.

Damon placed his hands over his heart and fluttered his eyelashes like a schoolgirl. "You don't have feelings for him now, do you?"

"Me? Of course not." Caroline willed her cheeks not to redden at his accusation. "He is a murderer and as long as he lives he is a threat to Elena." She didn't mention that she knew deep in her soul he could never, ever hurt her.

"Good," Damon said coldly. "That will make it easier."

Caroline nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. "What is it you want me to do?"

"For now? Just spy on him and try and get information from him. He must have other weaknesses besides just a stake from that white oak tree. Just pay attention to anything that would hurt him and keep Elena safe."

"How do you expect me to do that?" Caroline asked with a hitch in her breath. "I can't just come right out and ask him what would kill him."

Damon looked at her keenly. "You're a clever girl. You'll figure it out."

Caroline nodded in agreement, but with this betrayal of Klaus she felt as if her rational mind had just declared war on her heart.

"I'll let myself out. I am sure I can remember the way," Damon said with a cocky smile in her direction.

She didn't even bother to retort back with an insult. All she could think about was that she was about to stab Klaus, the only person who had offered her a whole new world, in the back.

* * *

><p>Klaus stared in appreciation at the sketch of Caroline he had frantically been working on most of the day. In it she wore the gown from the other night and her face was turned towards his. They had been dancing, his face a breath away from hers and he had imprinted the look in her face, the curve of her lips in his mind just so he could sketch it from memory later. To his pleasure he had managed to capture the softening in her eyes, the hint of lust that flickered there just before their kiss. It was an image he wanted to remember forever. As Rebekah stormed into his library, Klaus looked up from his masterpiece in annoyance.<p>

"Nik, one of your lame hybrids just accosted me in the hallway about you needing to talk to me. Really, if there is something on your mind, you could just walk across the hall or even text me," Rebekah complained, throwing herself into one of the leather chairs that adorned the room.

"Well, I need to give them something to do."

Rebekah peered at her nails, her brow furrowing at what appeared to be a chip in her red nail polish. "Well next time find another way to deliver your message or you will find yourself lacking another hybrid."

"I wish you would refrain from taking your anger out on my poor servants. I am getting tired of having to make more every time they look at you the wrong way."

"Then teach them some manners," Rebekah snapped.

"Look, it's not easy to find decent ones. I don't have a big pool to draw from here in Mystic Falls, but I will work on it," Klaus said with a sigh.

Surprised at Klaus giving in so easily, Rebekah stared at him suspiciously. "What exactly was it you wanted?"

"Nothing important. Other than I was thinking maybe you could make yourself scarce tomorrow night."

Rebekah leaned forward in her chair, a gleam in her eyes. "And why would I do that?"

"Because I happen to be having an important meeting tomorrow and I think it best if you find somewhere else to be," Klaus replied, casting a lingering glance over his sketch of Caroline.

"An important meeting?" Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Really Nik, everyone knows exactly what your meeting is about."

Klaus tucked the sketch of Caroline back into his sketchbook. "And what would that be?"

Ignoring the hint of danger in Klaus's tone, Rebekah curled her legs under her getting more comfortable in her chair. "Your pursuit of Caroline. You want to spend time with her."

"So what if I do?"

"I don't know what you see in her," Rebekah said with a pout. "She is just an average high-schooler with control freak tendencies. She ruins everything I get involved with at school. "

Klaus picked up his sketchbook and rose to his feet. "I don't think it is her personal mission to make you miserable. Besides don't you think you are a little old for high-school in the first place?"

"Maybe if someone would stop daggering me and let me enjoy my life I wouldn't be stuck trying to make up for all the things I missed."

"Be careful, Rebekah," Klaus warned.

Rebekah frowned and twirled her ring on her finger. "You never used to be so patient before when you saw something you wanted. Really you should just take her and be done with it. Get her out of your system."

Making his way to the bar, Klaus poured himself a glass of scotch. "It isn't that simple."

"It should be. What is this girl to you?"

Everything Klaus wanted to say, but something held him back. He hadn't ever been one to share confidences with anyone, even Rebekah, and he wasn't going to start now. "Try to play nice with her. She is going to be around for a while."

There was a long pause before Rebekah at last spoke up, "Then you better pour me a drink too."

Wordlessly, Klaus handed her his drink and poured himself another. She took a sip, making a face at the taste and he couldn't help but smile. Rebekah had never really taken to the taste of scotch in all the years they had been together.

"There was another girl. Another blonde back when you were at Elizabeth's court. You used to write about her constantly. All these horrid little poems about her hair of gold." Laughter sparkled in Rebekah's eyes. "You were never much of a poet."

Klaus drank deeply of his scotch, skillfully hiding his surprise at Rebekah's information. He hadn't known that he had written to his sister about Caroline, but it made sense since he frequently sent her letters while he resided at Elizabeth I's court. What bothered him the most was that while he could recall memories of Caroline and him together like flickering scenes from a movie projector, there were still things that were lost to him. "What else did I write?"

"I don't remember much more than that. I just remember thinking that you had fallen in love at last and with a human no less. Kol and I had a good laugh about it."

"I'm sure you did," Klaus replied harshly.

Rebekah rose to her feet, moving towards him to lay a hand on his arm. "It isn't like we haven't all been there. It was just a surprise that it was you who had succumbed to what you considered a weakness."

Klaus brushed her hand off. "It is a weakness."

"Yet you can't walk away."

Scowling at his sister, Klaus drained the scotch from his glass and poured himself another drink. "Are you going to prom?"

Rebekah startled at the abrupt change of subject, her eyes clouding over. "I don't know. I haven't been asked yet."

"Well, I want you to ask someone then."

"I can't do that. I need to be asked."

Klaus leaned against the bar, lifting his glass to his lips. "I thought you were a modern woman now? What is the point of all this women's liberation if you can't even invite a gentleman to your own prom?"

"It is tradition, Nik," Rebekah scoffed. "You should understand that."

"Well, you are about to break with tradition, create a new fashion if you will." Klaus saluted his sister with his tumbler of scotch.

Fingers clenched tightly around her glass, Rebekah stared at her brother with narrowed eyes. "And just who is it I am supposed to ask?"

"One of my finest specimens."

"A hybrid?" Rebekah asked with a derisive snort.

"Yes, but I don't expect it to be a chore for you at all. You did show some interest in him at one point."

Rebekah leaned back in her chair, a crafty look on her face. "Tyler."

Klaus nodded an affirmative. "I want you to keep him occupied —"

"And out of the picture while you romance his girlfriend," Rebekah finished for him.

"Ex-girlfriend. Supposedly things are over between them or at least he's not taking her to prom, " he said tightly, his eyes briefly shutting to block out the image of them together that hovered in front of him every time he thought of the hybrid.

Rising from her chair, glass in hand, Rebekah walked over to Klaus and circled around him only to stop and briefly touch him on the shoulder. "But you have suspicions, brother."

Klaus looked up at Rebekah and he knew she could read the frustration in his eyes, the rage that always flickered near the surface at the thought of Caroline with anyone but him. "Yes."

"Don't worry, Nik. I will keep him busy." Rebekah clinked her tumbler of scotch against his in a toast. "You can count on me."

"I know I can." Klaus took a swig of his drink. "Because if you fail me you will spend the next century back in your box."

Rebekah looked up at him sullenly. "You know you don't always have to follow up everything with a threat."

Klaus ignored her comment. How could she possibly understand that without threats there could be no proper motivation? It was the foreshadowing of a person's worst nightmare that was often the catalyst for their greatest achievements. "So you will find someplace else to be tomorrow?"

"Yes," Rebekah retorted, slamming her empty glass down on the bar. As she left Klaus's library, she paused in the doorway. ""And, Nik, do try to refrain from writing any dreadful poetry this time."

* * *

><p>Eternal gratitude to maevelin, Mercedes Stoner, Red Shagging Couch, mary, StefanxKlaus14, morninginparis, Fallendarkangel693, Sloth-the-Original-Groupie, ElisebethVE, Maiqu, loveylynn92, flipped, Ariel C. Rilmonn, tauruskch, laliela, luvit81, Matt-On-Matt, Lily94, RandomIsMe, SharkGurl, mea-kh, Betseyjill, QueenDMS, Jess and beverlie4055 for their incredible reviews. Thank you so much for continuing to inspire me.<p>

I also want to let everyone know that regardless of how the show depicts Klaroline I am not giving up and I will finish this story. This ship will live on forever with me no matter what happens. Also, I know there was a lack of Klaroline in this chapter, but these scenes were necessary to move the story along. I can tell you that the next chapter is all about the second date and therefore all delicious Klaroline so hang in there with me. :)


	6. Chapter 5

Thanks to ElisebethVE for her awesome beta job.

* * *

><p>Arriving at Klaus's mansion on the outskirts of Mystic Falls, Caroline exited her car, slamming the door behind her. Taking a step towards the house, she was instantly flanked by what she assumed were several hybrids. Glancing at them, she was struck at how they all looked somewhat similar. While they all had different eye and hair color, they were alike in that they all seemed to be around college age and very muscular. They could easily have been bouncers for a bar, albeit a somewhat classier one based on their preppy dress of button down shirts and jeans. Being so close to the supernatural creatures, her survival instincts automatically kicked in and she tensed, ready for a fight. They must have sensed her change in demeanor because they stepped back, one of them bowing to her.<p>

"Miss Forbes, the master is expecting you," greeted the hybrid that had just bowed to her. "If you will step into the house, I will show you to the library where he is waiting for you."

"Um, thank you." Caroline replied awkwardly. "And you are?"

"Tim," he offered with a small nod.

She followed the hybrid servant into Klaus's house and once again the beauty of the place struck her. She felt dwarfed by the two-story entryway, the huge staircase, and the crystal chandelier dangling from the ceiling. She couldn't imagine living surrounded by such grandeur, yet she could see Klaus fitting in here as easily as he had no doubt all the palaces he had visited over his lifetime. The thought of all the years' worth of experiences, the things he had seen and known once more made her feel insignificant and insecure. Quickly, she stamped down the feelings. She wasn't about to let that lessen her anger, her fury over his high handedness in taking over her finances. After what had happened at the dress shop, she had called all over town to other designer stores and found that he had opened up accounts everywhere for her. There was no place she could shop where they would willingly take her money. He had quite efficiently made her financially dependent on him and she hated him for it. As the hybrid led her down a hallway to the left, she rehearsed her speech in her head. At last they stopped at a double door made of some priceless wood.

"Thanks, Tim." Caroline said grimly. "I can take it from here."

"I need to announce you, Miss Forbes."

"Seriously?" She rolled her eyes. "Are you his butler or something? I can guarantee he already knows I am here."

Without waiting for an answer, she yanked open the double doors, determined to give Klaus hell. Her gaze instantly fell on him sitting on a leather chair by a crackling fireplace, a sketchbook in his hand. He looked so natural, normal even, as he sat lazily sketching, a pencil between his fingers that it took her aback. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to hers, looking at her intently from the depths of his clear blue eyes, making no effort to hide his pleasure at seeing her. A smile lit up his face making him look almost boyish and his radiant happiness made her want to smile back. He looked nothing like the controlling, hybrid monster she had built up in her mind the past day. For a moment, she faltered in her resolve and then tapping into her anger she stormed into the room.

"How dare you!"

Klaus slowly set down his sketchbook, rising from his chair. "It's pleasure to see you too, Caroline."

"Well, it's not a pleasure to see you," Caroline replied rudely. "How could you?"

"How could I what, love? You will have to be more specific."

His voice was low and throaty and even in her anger Caroline was affected by it. It swirled around her like a heated caress, bringing to mind a kiss shared in a haunted house in the middle of a rainstorm. Shaking of the images he had evoked she stalked towards him, making sure to keep a safe distance between them. "You paid for my dress," she accused.

"So that is the reason for this little tantrum," Klaus said mildly.

"I am not having a tantrum." Klaus gave her a sidewise look that told her he thought otherwise and she felt like stamping her foot to show just how angry she was.

"Do you like the dress?"

"Of course, I like the dress," Caroline bit out.

Klaus shrugged nonchalantly. "Then why does it matter who paid for it?"

Caroline yanked her wallet out of her leather purse, pulling out a wad of cash. "Because you can't pay for my clothes." She waved the money in the air. "And you certainly cannot go around town setting up accounts to pay my bills."

"Why is that?"

"Because — because you can't." Caroline thrust the money pointedly at him. "This is the amount I owe you for the dress."

"Why can't I, Caroline?" Klaus murmured, taking a step towards her. "Don't you think you deserve pretty things?" Caroline stood perfectly still as Klaus slowly circled her, like a bird of prey until he stood directly behind her, his mouth an inch away from her ear. "Aren't you worthy of such luxuries? A sheriff's salary doesn't go far. In fact, your mother barely makes ends meet and as for your father, he never made much to contribute to your living. If not for me, who else is going to buy you designer clothes, dress you in the jewels you deserve?"

"It is not your right to buy me such things," Caroline retorted, ignoring the weakness in her knees at feeling Klaus's breath dance over her tender earlobe.

"The whose right is it?"

Caroline turned abruptly, facing Klaus she held out the money. "Not yours. I can buy my own things."

"Maybe, but it is my pleasure to treat you to the nice things in life. Don't deny me something that gives me such joy."

There was a hint of emptiness, loneliness even in his tone and it tugged at her heart, but it wasn't enough to sway her. As much as she loved designer clothes and fancy things, she couldn't accept such gifts from him. It was wrong. She was not his to buy for.

"Here is the money for the dress," Caroline said, forcing the money into Klaus's hand.

Klaus looked down at the money in bemusement. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

"I don't know. Since you seem to have more money that God, maybe give it to charity."

"Charity?" Klaus smiled at her, flashing his dimples. "Sweetheart, vampires don't do charity."

Caroline look down her nose at him scornfully. "Well, you should."

"Vampires aren't exactly the widow and orphan giving types," Klaus said with a chuckle. "If you want to start a charity with it, by all means, go ahead, but if not…this money means nothing to me." He walked over to the fireplace, holding the wad of hundred dollar bills above the cracking flames.

"You wouldn't," Caroline choked out. That money might mean nothing to him, but she was going to be paying interest on it for a very long time. The least he could do was to give her the satisfaction of paying her debt to him.

Klaus raised an elegant brow at her reaction. "I can toss this into the fire right now, or you can find some other use for the money. It matters not to me."

Caroline knew he would do it too. What was twelve hundred dollars to him? She considered her options. She could owe him nothing and watch him wastefully burn the money or she could take it and maybe make something good come from this. Her decision was quickly made. With just a few steps she reached his side, holding out her hand for the money.

"I knew you would make the right decision," he said, a slight smirk on his face as he handed her the cash.

"Oh, I'm not taking the money," Caroline replied triumphantly as she returned the money to her purse. "Rather you have just made a donation to the first ever Vampire Survivor Fund. I am going to use this money to create a charity for victims of vampire attacks. It should be easy to talk to my mom and get her to agree to approach the council about creating a program like this. You should be honored. You are going to be the first donor to the charity. I am sure with the example of generosity you are setting I can get the Salvatores to donate as well. So apparently vampires do," Caroline paused to offer him a charming smile, "do charity."

Klaus chuckled, his eyes dancing merrily. "I guess they do now. In fact, I might even be tempted to make a further donation to your cause."

Caroline looked down her nose at him suspiciously. "In return for what?" Already her thoughts were running wild with possibilities and a haze clouded her vision as she remembered his lips on hers, his hands on her waist as he pressed her body into his.

"I know that look, sweetheart." Klaus took a step towards her, his fingertips lightly grazing her cheek, before he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "You are already thinking dirty thoughts about me and what I might request of you."

"No, I'm not," she scoffed, swatting him away. Of course, he had to know she lied from the heat that had already risen in her cheeks.

Klaus merely smiled at her knowingly before walking towards the corner of the room where a chess set sat on a small, round table. "Play a game with me?"

"Wait…what?" Caroline frowned at his request. It couldn't be this simple.

"You want money for your Vampire Survivor Fund and I want to play a game of chess with you. Surely we can make a deal?"

Caroline walked over to him, a look of incredulity on her face. "Let me get this straight… you are willing to give money to my charity in exchange for a game of chess."

"A large sum of money," Klaus affirmed.

"What kind of game is this? Strip chess?"

"Again with those dirty thoughts, love," Klaus laughed. "Although, that strip chess idea is an interesting one."

Caroline felt herself flush even hotter. Why was it that he always managed to twist things to make it seem like it was she who had her mind in the gutter when everything he said and did dripped with sex and innuendo?

"No. This is just a simple game of chess with one caveat. For each piece that is captured the loser must answer a question that the other poses."

"I don't understand. It can't be as simple as that. What is your ulterior goal?"

Klaus idly picked up a chess piece, twirling it between his fingers. "Must there always be an ulterior goal?"

"With you, yes," Caroline answered harshly.

"Then you wish the truth?"

"Yes."

Setting the chess piece back on the board again, Klaus moved towards her, his eyes darkening to midnight. "I want to know you, Caroline. Know everything about you."

Caroline's lips parted, yet no words came out. She was mesmerized, held captive by the desire she saw in his face.

"Would you let me in?" His voice lowered as he moved closer, narrowing the space between them. "Would you let me learn everything about you? Discover you as I please." Klaus tipped her head up with a fingertip looking deeply into her eyes. His gaze burned through her skin, igniting a fire throughout her body. She understood what he asked, the meaning behind his words, and it was more that she had ever given anyone before.

"Klaus…"

"It is just a game and think of all the good you can accomplish with my money. All those victims' lives you can set aright. "

Could she do it? Let him in? Maybe she could view this as only a game. Besides, she could lie if she didn't want to tell him the truth. Although, he would probably know since he had somehow become an expert at the slightest changes in her demeanor. As for the money, if she were to agree to this game, she would demand enough money to compensate every victim who had been attacked and all the families who had lost a loved one. She had no doubt that even asking for that much money would hardly dent Klaus's personal fortune. Plus, the thought of him so generously giving to vampire victims made her oddly happy.

"Okay," she agreed. I will play."

The beautiful smile he offered warmed her to her very core and before she could think she returned it.

Klaus seemed taken aback for a moment at her reaction, but then with a sweep of his arm, he gestured towards one of the delicate, gilt chairs that sat in front of the table. He waited for her to sit before taking his seat. She realized he had seated her in front of the white chess pieces and she wondered if he had done it on purpose.

"The game is a fairly simple one. Have you played before?"

Caroline shook her head.

"Chess is all about strategy. All you have to do to succeed is stay one step or more ahead of your opponent. What is most important is to expect the other players move, get into their mind so to speak," Klaus explained.

She was suddenly worried she had made a very grave mistake. If Klaus played this game like he lived his life she had no chance of ever capturing one of his pieces. She would end up spending the night answering question after question of his until he won at last.

"Think of the pieces as part of a kingdom. The names of the pieces and the power of each one form a hierarchy. The lowliest piece on the board and the first to move is the pawn. On the first move they can move one or two spaces forward after that they can only move one." Klaus picked up the black piece, an arrogant look on his face. "As you can see there are a lot of these and while they are necessary, you shouldn't get attached to them. They are canon fodder in the game. They do all the dirty work."

Caroline ran her finger over one of her pawns. "I understand how they feel."

"Is that how you see yourself? A pawn?"

"Sometimes." She thought of how life had chewed her up and spit her out. How, even though she suffered, she still tried to put on a happy face and go through the motions, proving to everyone that the happy cheerleader they knew hadn't changed at all. She threw parties, offered support and tried to prop everyone up when things were at their worst.

Klaus set his pawn down forcefully with an oath. "Who makes you feel these things? Is it the Salvatores? Damon?"

"No, of course not," she rushed to assure him. Even though she did sometimes feel like a pawn in their plots and schemes, she couldn't let Klaus know that. She had no illusions that he would gladly murder the brothers if she gave him lead to.

"I promise you shall never be made to feel like a pawn again," Klaus vowed.

Caroline was surprised at the intensity of his reaction. Klaus was truly angry at the idea of her thinking she was a pawn. No one else in her life had ever expressed such feelings on her behalf. For some reason it pleased her. With a half-smile Caroline moved one of her pawns forward one space, beginning the game. Klaus followed moving his two spaces.

"Now the next piece is the knight. It is the one that looks like a horse. The knight moves in an L formation. Three spaces down and one over. It's very limited compared to the other pieces, making it almost as ineffectual in its moves as the Salvatore brothers"

"At least they try," Caroline retorted, even though she recognized that Klaus was right in his observation.

Klaus ignored her, moving his knight and Caroline did the same.

"The next piece, shaped like a castle tower, is the rook and it moves vertically and horizontally as many spaces as you choose." Klaus picked up another piece with what looked like a pointy hat. "This is the bishop. They move diagonally and, like the rook," Klaus set down the pointy piece, "they can move as little or as many spaces as you please. Frequently they seem to come out of nowhere. A surprise attack."

"Something you excel at."

Klaus returned the bishop to the board. "Is that how you see me? Is that why you are always on your guard? I swear I mean no harm to you, love."

"Maybe not intentionally, but you would harm my friends and that hurts me." Caroline was sure on some level he didn't mean her injury, but his very interest, his obsession with her, was harming her. She just didn't think she could ever get him to understand that.

"Have I not promised you I would not touch those that are dear to you? What more do I have to do to prove to you that my attentions, my regard for you is honorable? I have been more that fair with you, Caroline."

His bitter words lashed at her, ripping holes in every defense she had until she was forced to agree with him. "I suppose you have."

Pleased at her answer, he pointed to a tall piece with a crown on top of it. "This is the king. He can move one space in any direction and his safety is what the game is all about. The whole objective is to capture your opponent's king. In order to do this, he has to be trapped with no way to escape. If you can put him in a vulnerable position he can escape from you say, 'check'. If he cannot escape you say, 'checkmate' and you have won the game." Klaus picked up a smaller figure with a crown that stood next to the king. "Last of all, is the most important piece in the whole game."

"Wait, I don't understand," Caroline interrupted. "Isn't the king the most powerful? What piece could possibly be more important than the king?"

"The queen, love. It is always the queen," Klaus answered, catching her gaze with a intense blistering look that warmed her right through her skin and all the way to her heart "The queen has complete control of the board. She can move horizontally, vertically, diagonally as many spaces as she wishes. She will do anything to protect the king and without her he is doomed."

Caroline picked up the piece, staring at it in wonder. "You wouldn't think that it would be a queen who would have so much influence on the outcome of a game."

"Maybe not, but it is true. Without her, the king is nothing, has nothing."

The ardent tone in his voice had her lifting her eyes from the queen to stare into his face. The passionate, violent look in his eyes scared her and she realized that they were no longer talking about the game. Her heart tightened painfully in her chest, her breath hitching in her throat. She couldn't deal with this. It was too much. Quickly she returned the queen to the chessboard. "Shall we continue?"

There was a soft sigh from Klaus and then he moved his knight. In silence they traded moves, the pieces sliding over the board. It didn't take long for him to capture one of her pawns. Caroline scowled at the loss of her piece, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. She should have never agreed to this game.

"The first question of the game. I wonder what I should ask." Klaus leaned back in his chair, a look of smug satisfaction on his face. "I know. Are you afraid of me, love?"

"No. Absolutely not, and yes, terribly so," Caroline let slip without thought or reason.

"That is a contradiction, not an answer," Klaus replied with a chuckle.

Caroline let out a small laugh. "You are right, but it is how I feel." She moved her knight and they continued their play until Klaus once more caught another of her pawns. With a sigh, she surrendered it.

"Answer me honestly." Klaus moved forward in his chair, locking his gaze on hers, holding her hostage and forcing an intimacy she did not wish for. "Do you think I could ever hurt you?"

Carefully she pondered the question. Just weeks ago she would have said yes, but for some reason Klaus's feelings had changed towards her in a way she couldn't begin to fathom. He had spent time with her; opened up his soul to her when he spoke of his father and even kissed her. Yes, he had made threats, but not towards her. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do, Caroline." His voice deepened as he said her name, as if he was attempting to compel her. "Answer the question."

"I know you won't hurt me physically. I can't explain how I know that, but I do." Caroline pulled her gaze from his, lowering her eyes to the chessboard. "But you easily could mentally."

"What do you mean?"

The air grew impossibly still between them and Caroline felt as if the whole world had slowed and now stood still in expectation of her answer. She considered lying, but somehow she couldn't, not when he was staring at her as if his entire being hinged on her answer. "Because of the things you make me feel. It frightens me. I am afraid you will break me."

"I feel the same way," Klaus murmured.

Caroline could feel his eyes on her, caressing her with his gaze, like he was memorizing her, this moment. She couldn't handle it, the magnitude of what lay between them, what was left unsaid. Clearing her throat, she stared steadfastly at the board, searching for a way to steal one of his pieces. At last she saw it. Her queen could take out his castle. With a triumphant squeal she picked up the piece, setting it aside of the chessboard. "My turn."

Klaus with a smirk settled himself in his chair, stretching out his long legs lazily as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Go ahead, I have no secrets."

He was nothing but secrets. The problem was finding the one that she wanted revealed the most. She wouldn't likely get this chance again. There was one question she yearned to ask, but didn't dare. She wasn't sure she wanted to even know the answer of what could hurt, even kill him because, if she knew it, then it could be taken from her. Caroline wanted to do Damon's bidding and protect Elena, but at what cost to herself? The thought of bringing about Klaus's downfall left her torn and racked with guilt and not wishing to explore the subject further, she promptly thought of another question. "What is your greatest fear?"

A muscle twitched in Klaus's jaw, his face tightening, but the smirk on his face remained. "I don't think you are ready for the answer."

"Try me."

"I fear only two things." Klaus held up two fingers, to count of his answers. "Being left to rot in a coffin for all eternity."

"Funny, I am sure your siblings feel the same way," Caroline interjected coolly.

Klaus glowered at her for a moment before continuing, "The second is losing you."

Left speechless, Caroline stared at Klaus, searching his face for the truth. Without faltering he met her gaze, like he was daring her to question him, to deny the factuality of what he had just said. In the heavy silence that lay between, he seemed to be waiting for her to say something, anything, but she couldn't. She didn't know what to think.

The intimacy of the moment was lost as Klaus tore his eyes from hers, roughly knocking over another one of her pieces, claiming it as his. "Tell me, sweetheart, how do you deal with pain and loss?"

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, her voice trembling at the coldness she heard in his voice.

"When your father chose death over being a vampire like you, proving to the world he would never accept who you were, how did you deal with that? How did you react to the reality that he didn't love you enough to live for you?"

Caroline felt the harsh sting of tears gathering in her eyes. "You are too cruel. I don't want to play this game anymore."

"You agreed to play. Now answer the question," Klaus demanded.

"I…I pretend I'm somewhere else, anywhere else," Caroline answered, each word painfully dragged from the core of her being.

"Where do you go, love?"

At Klaus's gentle endearment, his soft tone, she closed her eyes. "A place where I can be myself. Where no one cares that I am a vampire. Somewhere that my parents love me and are proud of me."

"You never have to be anyone other than who you are. Not with me."

"But, I want to stay there and never leave. I don't ever want to be found."

Her eyes opened as she felt the erotic shiver of his gaze on hers. He was looking at her so deeply, so intently that she felt the need to distance herself from him, but she couldn't move. She was stuck, completely lost in the blaze of his eyes.

"I will find you, Caroline. Wherever you are I will follow. I will always find you."

Caroline shuddered at his words. They were a promise, like he had just sworn an unholy oath to her. She was beginning to hate this game and she wanted it to end. Staring at the chessboard, she sought a way to take one of his pieces, to make him suffer for the pain he had caused and the confession he had dragged from her. At last she saw it, a way to take his knight. Eagerly she moved her bishop, knocking the piece over. She knew just what to ask, the question that would give her the greatest ammunition against him.

"Tell me how to kill you?"

His head snapped up, his eyes narrowing to amber slits. "Is it for the Salvatores you ask or for yourself?"

"This game is about truth, is it not?" Caroline taunted. "I have been honest with you now it is your turn. How does one go about putting you in your coffin."

"Ask another question," Klaus barked, his face wild with fury.

Icy, cold rivers of fear worked their way through her veins. She had overstepped herself. While, she knew he would not hurt her physically, she knew there would be a price to pay, not for herself, but for some other poor soul if she continued to incite him. "Fine. Teach me how to enter another's dreams, their thoughts."

She watched in fascination as Klaus slowly regained his control. With a deep breath, his whole body relaxed, the flames of amber in his pupils disappearing, his eyes returning to their natural, clear, blue. "Did the Salvatores teach you nothing?"

"No, not really," Caroline admitted. "From Stefan I learned to hunt small furry animals," she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "and from Damon I learned how not to be a vampire."

"Then you have learned nothing at all." Klaus rose from his chair, making his way over to the leather couch that faced the fireplace. "Come sit with me, sweetheart."

Caroline joined him on the couch, sitting as far away from him as possible.

"That will never work," Klaus said with a laugh, sliding in next to her until she could feel the warmth of his thigh against her own. "We need to be touching. The more intimate the better."

"I think this is intimate enough," Caroline said, her whole body stiffening at being so close to him.

Klaus gathered one of her hands in his, pressing it against his temple. From her fingertips she could feel his soft curls and her fingers yearned to run through his hair. A series of images flashed through her mind of her tugging on his hair, drawing his head to hers and pressing her mouth to his. The eroticism of the scene, the passion of the kiss was enough that already she could feel heat pooling low in her belly.

"Are you doing this to me?" Caroline asked.

"What?"

She turned her head to look him in the eyes. Finding nothing to justify her suspicions, she sighed. There had to be something wrong with her that she couldn't even sit next to him without having salacious thoughts. "Nothing."

"Then may we begin?" he asked with such a mischievous smile that she was once more convinced he had implanted those images in her head.

"Yes."

"I need you to close your eyes."

Caroline did as she was told, shutting out the light.

"First, we need to ground you so you don't get lost. I need you to picture yourself as a giant tree with your feet as the roots. Feel them growing down into the dirt, cementing themselves to the earth until you are immovable. It is this link that will keep you from losing yourself in me."

She did as he asked, picturing her feet as roots digging their way into the earth until she felt more tree than human.

"Now I want you to clear your head and focus entirely on me," Klaus said, his voice becoming more hypnotic with each word he spoke. "I need you to reach out with all your senses until you feel you have captured my essence."

That wouldn't be hard for her it all. Being this close to him, smelling his natural scent, feeling his thigh against hers and with her hand on his forehead, he was all she could think about. She pictured him in her head, his dark, blue eyes, the irises ringed in gold, his often unruly, head of hair and his long, lean muscular body. Still, that wasn't enough. She needed his essence so she recreated their kiss, tasting him in her mouth, smelling his scent in her nose and feeling his muscles beneath her hands. Then like that, she was there in his head. There was a flurry of bright, blinding colors and the sound of slamming as everything disappeared behind hundreds of white doors.

"What happened," Caroline whispered.

"Did you really think I would let you read me?" Klaus asked, his voice a rough as gravel. "You don't want to know what is in my head."

Klaus was probably right. She had no doubt his thoughts, his memories, were filled with horrific sights. Then slowly one of the doors opened, enticing her forward. She stood in the hallway of his mind pensively, unable to make a decision. "What are you doing?"

"Go and see, love."

Tentatively, she put one foot in front of the other until she stood right in the doorway. Peering inside she saw nothing but inky blackness. She knew that nothing could hurt her here, but still she hesitated. It was if some part of her recognized on some higher level that if she walked through this doorway there was no going back. Steeling herself, she took another step, and fell into the darkness.

The next thing she knew she was standing in a small clearing, surrounded by tall trees. The sunlight was so bright it hurt her eyes. Turning around she surveyed her surroundings. Under her feet was a thick carpet of leafy foliage and grasses, but her feet made no sound as she walked. Around her she could hear the sounds of the forest. The rustling of wild creatures, the trilling of birds calling to one another and the soft nicker of a horse. The sound was so out of place, she followed the direction it came from and there she found him, Klaus.

He stood leaning against a tree, an anxious look on his face. To her surprise he was dressed in old-fashioned clothes. She couldn't place the time period, maybe Renaissance as he wore a doublet fashioned of slashed blue velvet. At her approach he didn't look at her, in fact he didn't seem to notice her at all. Studying him she noticed there was an agitated air about him as if he was waiting for something of importance to happen. As the horse tied to the tree whinnied, he stroked her black head murmuring something softly. At the sound of hoof beats in the distance, the tension he had been carrying instantly left him. His eyes took on an eager gleam, his lips curving into a smile.

A small-cloaked figure in green, riding sidesaddle on a white horse approached the clearing. Slowing down to a walk, the horse moved to where Klaus waited. He reached up to the female rider, lifting her down from the saddle. The woman fell into his arms, her hooded cloak falling around her gracefully.

"Niklaus." The name rang out sweetly and clear as a bell.

Caroline moved in closer, eager to hear their conversation and to see the woman who seemed to affect Klaus so deeply.

"I was getting worried," Klaus said and she couldn't help but notice the concern in his voice.

A small, gloved hand reached out to stroke the stubble on his cheek. He allowed the touch for only a moment before he captured the hand and pressed it fervently to his lips.

"I had trouble getting away. The Queen was cantankerous today. The meeting with the Spanish ambassador did not go well and all our efforts to soothe her went awry. She even threatened to smash Cecily's lute if she played one more note. Even reading to her the most recent work of Edmund Spenser, something that normally works, left her more ill tempered. Then after she had sent us all away, Mistress Blanchard followed me back to my chamber to lecture me on my indiscreet behavior these past few weeks. I think she is watching us."

Caroline could hear the fear in the woman's voice and she wondered that she would be so afraid of Mistress Blanchard, but not of Klaus. Didn't she realize that the man she was so intimately close to was a vampire? That he would soon bite into her neck, draining her blood from her body?

That woman, can go to the devil," Klaus growled. "Don't worry, I will take care of her."

"You mustn't. It will only make things worse for us. She will go right to the Queen."

Stepping closer, Caroline knew there was no way to save the poor girl from being Klaus's next victim and she wished he would get it over with and kill her. She couldn't bear his playing at being the suitor, pretending to care.

"Run away with me. I will take you anywhere you want to go. Paris, maybe? We can see the world together. There is so much I can show you."

That couldn't possibly be a plea Caroline heard in Klaus's voice could it?

The woman leaned her cheek against Klaus's chest, turning her head so Caroline couldn't see it. "You know I can't. The Queen has need of me."

"You would choose her over me?" Klaus said and the bitterness in his tone pierced Caroline's heart. He wasn't going to hurt this girl. He genuinely cared for her. For some reason this revelation tore at Caroline and she wanted more than anything to see this woman's face. Who was this person that she could command Klaus's affection in this manner?"

"Never. You are first in my heart, always," the girl said passionately, tipping her face up to look at Klaus. "But I have a duty to the Queen. She has been both mother and father to me and I owe her my loyalty to the very end. When she…when she at last passes, I promise to go wherever you wish."

"Ever loyal you are, my lady. " Klaus lowered his head, his lips descending over the girl's. As they kissed, Caroline felt an unwanted pang in her heart and a hot anger rising in her chest. She wanted to turn away, force her eyes from this intimate moment, but she couldn't look away. It was torture, yet she kept her gaze on them, flinching when the woman wound her arms around Klaus's neck pulling him deeper into the kiss.

Then when Caroline thought she could bear it no longer, the girl pulled away from Klaus and as she did so her hood fell back from her face.

"No!" Caroline screamed. It couldn't be. The woman Klaus was with was her. Her screams continued until they rang in her ears, but the couple neither heard nor saw her.

With a flash of white light the woods disappeared and Caroline was left floating in darkness. It pressed in on her until she couldn't breathe, until she felt as if she was suffocating. Her insides were twisted into ravenous knots and she knew a hunger like she hadn't experienced since she had first been made. She needed to get out of here, needed to eat. Once more she began screaming, forcing her body to move against the pressure of the black space, but she was trapped. Then she heard it, a voice erupting from the darkness.

"Caroline! Wake up!

It was Klaus. He had found her. Never had she been more thankful to hear him. As she focused in on his voice, the black pressure on her limbs receded and she found herself once more able to move, but she was so weak. It took all of her strength just to move a toe let alone an entire foot. Then there was the hunger, like a caged beast it tore at her insides.

"Caroline? Can you hear me? Open your eyes, love."

She could hear him, but wasn't sure she had the ability to even lift a finger. Yet she tried, tightening her muscles with all of her might she forced her eyelids up, opening her eyes.

Looking down at her, a look of utter panic on his face was Klaus. His eyes were dark and tortured and as they connected with hers she got the feeling that he was checking to see if she had really returned to her body. Unfortunately for him she had.

"Caroline?"

"Of course, it's me," she snarled. "Who were you expecting? Maybe the Caroline from your little historical porno?"

A look of bemusement settled over Klaus's face. "What are you talking about?"

"That memory was no memory. That was something out of some sick fantasy of yours." Caroline tried to sit up only to find that she was firmly wrapped in Klaus's arms. She struggled for only a moment before her vision wavered, blackness hovering fuzzily on the edges of her sight. Against her will, her head fell weakly against his chest.

Klaus's arm's tightened further around her. "This exercise was too much for you. I sometimes forget how young you are. You need to eat."

"I do not. I just need to go home."

"You will eat if I have to tie you to a chair and force it down your throat," he threatened.

The idea of being tied to a chair, completely at Klaus's mercy was enough to have Caroline changing her mind. "Fine," she agreed weakly.

Now that she had given in, Klaus smiled, his hand reaching out to stroke her hair that had fallen over her cheek. She felt the gentle touch, and before she could stop herself, she leaned into the sensation. With that simple caress she felt herself relaxing, tension leaving her body in waves. Never before had she felt so safe, so cocooned in warmth.

"You will love, Antoinette. She has the most exquisite taste to her," Klaus murmured.

With those shocking words, Caroline was jolted from the state of euphoria she had succumbed to. She tried to struggle, but in the past few minutes she had grown even weaker. Even in her weakened state she could hear the doors to the library open and then the sound of footsteps reverberating on the wood floors until they stopped right in front of her.

Painfully she turned her head to focus on the figure that was now kneeling in front of her. It was a young, exotic looking brunette dressed in a fitted, red, sleeveless dress. She had healed over bite-marks on her neck and arms and as she lifted a wrist to offer it to Klaus, Caroline whimpered. She could smell the rich scent of fresh, pumping blood perfuming the air and the effect on her was overwhelming. Against her will she felt the veins popping in her face, her fangs elongating. She wanted to ravish this Antoinette with her teeth, suck the blood from veins until they were dry reeds. Caroline was dizzy with need, with want. She felt her humanity slowly slipping from her like sand through an hourglass.

Caroline smelled Antoinette's blood in the air the instant Klaus slit open her arm and she tried to get as far away from the heavenly scent as possible. Like a weak kitten she struggled in Klaus's arms as Antoinette held out her wrist for Caroline to suck on.

"Eat, Caroline," Klaus commanded.

Frantically Caroline shook her head. She wouldn't feed, not if it meant eating from another person. It didn't matter if Antoinette was compelled or here of her own free will. Caroline knew that she couldn't control herself and she didn't trust Klaus to stop her from killing the woman. She would rather die of her overwhelming hunger than give into temptation.

Klaus sighed, "While I am impressed by your control…you need to eat."

"If you make me do this, I swear I will hate you forever." Caroline's voice was hoarse to her ears, practically unrecognizable, but she knew Klaus understood her from the string of oaths that fell from his mouth.

"Don't you understand? If you don't eat you will become die," Klaus shouted at her.

Caroline's eyes fluttered closed, Klaus was so far away and she was so very tired. She no longer cared about eating. All she wanted to do was sleep.

A thick scent that smelled of heaven, of kisses in rainstorms and salvation tickled her nostrils. Caroline's eyes instantly flew open. She recognized the smell and eagerly she accepted the wrist that was now offered to her lips. She wanted to gulp, to fill her mouth with his blood until it overflowed her lips, but instead she slowly sucked, relishing every drop of ambrosia. It slid thickly down her throat, warming her and igniting flames throughout her body.

In her mind, she saw Klaus, how he had looked before their first kiss. His hair was damp, his shirt clinging to his muscular chest and she was in his arms dancing. Then he leaned in to kiss her, robbing her of all her breath as he pulled her closer to him. The kiss between them grew more heated, his lips hard and demanding against hers. His tongue slipped softly into her mouth, and they both moaned at the feel, the taste, and the heady intoxication of the shared kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingertips curling into the hair at the back of his head.

She couldn't speak, couldn't think, she could only feel as his torso pressed tightly to hers and she felt the hard planes of his chest through the silk of her gown, the fine cotton of his shirt. His mouth moved from hers, and she made a soft sound of protest, pulling him closer. Lips skimming over her jaw, his hands slid down over her sides, to cup her bottom. She laid her head upon his shoulder and savored their closeness, his touch. Sighing, she offered no protest as his lips ran over her skin. He moved his mouth lower, his tongue creating a path down her neck and his hands…they touched, molded and cared for her, as if her pleasure was all that mattered to him. Klaus seemed to know instinctively what drove her to moan against him, what made her wild in his arms.

"Caroline…sweetheart." Klaus called out, his voice rudely interrupting the scene in her head. "You need to stop before you drain me dry."

She didn't want to, she never wanted to stop the thrilling sensations that rippled through her. There was a tug against her mouth and then the source of her euphoria was dragged from her mouth. Making a sound of protest, she lifted her head to find Klaus staring back at her, his pupils dilated and black with lust. The sight was enough to have her hastily scrambling out of his arms.

"You were in my head," Caroline accused Klaus heatedly.

"No," Klaus replied with a keen look. "Whatever was in your mind was all your own doing." He leaned over to cup her cheek. "What were you dreaming?"

Caroline was caught off-guard by the intensity of his voice, his fervent curiosity in what she had visualized while feeding from him. "It was nothing," she said dismissively.

His face seemed to fall before her and Caroline wondered what kind of answer he had expected. The revelation that he hadn't been influencing her thoughts suddenly struck her. The kissing, the entire scene that had left her so hot and bothered, had been all her own imagination. Forced to recognize this truth, it was too much for Caroline. She needed to get away from Klaus, away from his influence.

Jumping up from the couch, Caroline announced, "I need to go home. Now."

Klaus stood, reaching for her hand. "I don't think that is a good idea. You have just been through a very rough ordeal. You would have passed into a transient state if I hadn't fed you."

"While I do appreciate that, it is time for me to leave," Caroline replied firmly, removing her hand from his grasp. "My mother will be worried if I am out too late."

"I will call your mother, tell her where you are. I will see to it that she understands," he argued strongly.

Caroline's head began to throb and she reached up with her hands to massage her temples. The last thing she needed was to get her mother involved in any of this. She knew she couldn't force Klaus to let her go home so she appealed to his care for her wellbeing, hoping this slight manipulation would work. "I am really tired and I just want to go home and sleep. Please."

A pained expression crossed Klaus's face, but it took only seconds for him to give in. "Of course. Let me walk you to your car." He held out his hand for her and she with the only slightest hesitation placed her smaller one in his. "Since you are determined to go home, I am going to follow you in my car to ensure you make it home safely," Klaus told her as they left the library and made their way to the front door.

Caroline wasn't even going to bother to argue with him. Let him follow her if he pleased. All she cared about was getting home. Tonight had been an emotional roller coaster for her and she was drained. While Klaus's blood had revived her physically, emotionally she was a wreck and she felt as if she was hanging on by a single thread.

Outside the hybrids stopped whatever they were doing, standing attentively as Klaus stepped into the courtyard. Caroline was tempted to roll her eyes. From all his talk of chess earlier it was even more obvious to her that he saw himself as a king and no doubt, these hybrids were his pawns. His siblings were most likely his bishops and the rooks and knights were probably favored hybrids. Then last of all there was the queen, the most important piece he had told her, but who in his life held that role? Caroline was very much afraid she already knew the answer.

From nearby she heard a faint rustle and that was the only warning Caroline had as Klaus violently threw her to the ground, covering her with his body. Lying underneath him, she could hear the crunch of what sounded like teeth hitting bone and then a yelp of plain. Shouts filled the air and she sensed a flurry of activity, but Klaus held her immobile beneath him. Frustrated at not being able to see anything, she pushed at him trying to force him off of her. At first his body was firm and hard to her touch, resisting her efforts, but then he shifted and she was able to free herself.

"Caroline, are you unhurt?" Klaus asked, his eyes earnestly roving over every inch of her body.

"Of course. With you for a body shield how could I not be?" she retorted.

Klaus smiled faintly and standing up he offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet. Seemingly satisfied at her response he turned around and that is when she finally caught a glimpse of what had caused all the commotion. Lying just feet from her was Tim, the hybrid servant who had shown her to Klaus's library. His face was waxy and pale and it looked as if from the way his arm was bleeding that there was a huge chunk of flesh missing from him. Something had attacked him, bit him, ripping through muscle, tendon and bone. Tearing her eyes away from the hybrid she easily found the culprit. To the left, crumpled in a heap of fur, was what she assumed was a hybrid based on the fact it was currently transforming from wolf to human before her eyes. From the awkward angle of its head, it looked as though someone had snapped its neck. Probably the hybrid now kneeling proudly beside the creature.

Caroline watched as Klaus, his face contorted with anger, stalked over to where the dead, hybrid male lay.

"Sire, it looks like we were attacked by one of our own?" the hybrid that was kneeling asked with confusion as he rose to his feet.

Klaus poked at the creature's head with the toe of his foot. "It would appear that way. I remember him."

The barely repressed rage in his voice sent chills down Caroline's spine. He was furious and his control seemed practically paper-thin. Swallowing her own nervousness, she walked over to Klaus, touching him lightly on the shoulder. "I don't understand? How is that possible?"

"Compulsion," he answered flatly.

"But why? Who has the power to do that?"

Klaus turned his head to look at her and the glimmer of fear she saw in his eyes scared her more than anything she had ever witnessed before in her life. "I don't know, but I think you were the target."

"Me?" Caroline squeaked out, shaking her head. "That can't be. I have nothing to do with," she waved her hands over the crowd of hybrids that surrounded them, "this."

From behind her she heard a soft, groan. Turning around she was horrified to see that Tim was convulsing, his breath coming out in pants. She knew he was dying, but it seemed to be happening at a faster rate than it should. If Klaus was right and this attack had been meant for her then Tim had given his life for hers. Her heart clenched painfully and her eyes became wet. The debt she owed this hybrid was one she couldn't possibly ever repay. "Do something," she whispered to Klaus through her tears.

Caroline felt him move behind her and she didn't protest when his arms slid around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"What would you have me do, love?"

"Can't you save him? Won't your blood heal him like it did me?"

Klaus's body became rigid behind hers. "Well, yes," he said carefully.

Turning around in his embrace, Caroline smiled tearfully up at him. "Then do it. Save Tim's life."

"I am not going to give him my blood," Klaus scoffed as he looked with contempt at Tim's fallen body.

Caroline wrenched herself from his arms to stare at him accusingly. "But why? Is it because he is a pawn?"

"Of course, he's a pawn," he threw back. "And as such he is dispensable. He served his purpose. Did you learn nothing from our game?"

"That was a game. Not real life," Caroline cried.

Tim began coughing, his face turning blue as blood spilled from his lips to pool on the ground.

Caroline knew that they were running out of time. In minutes Tim would be dead and it would be all her fault. She couldn't allow him to sacrifice his life for her.

"Please, Klaus. Don't let him die," she sobbed, tears running down her face. "If he dies it will be because of me and I can't live with that." She felt his arms around her, his lips pressing soothing kisses against her hair, but she wouldn't be comforted. She only cried harder.

Finally with a sound of frustration, Klaus pulled his arms from around her. "Fine," he thundered. Kneeling over Tim, he motioned for one of the hybrids to come forward. "Hold his head and keep his mouth open," Klaus instructed as he bit open his wrist with his teeth.

Blood dripped from Klaus into the hybrids open mouth, drop after drop. Caroline waited expectantly for the color to return to Tim's face. Even though the hybrid managed to sluggishly swallow the blood there was not a single change to him to show that he was reviving from the bite. Tim's chest rose one more time, his breath rattling in his throat and then the little bit of life that remained in his eyes flickered out. He was dead.

"No," Caroline whispered, shaking her head.

Klaus stood up and she noticed his face was drawn and white. "It didn't work," he stated in disbelief.

"What happened? Why did it not work?"

"I don't know." Klaus staggered over to her, grasping her shoulders tightly in his hands. "It could have been you and there is nothing I could have done to save you."

Caroline looked him in the face and his eyes were stark with terror. Even though she felt ill with dread and horror at what could have happened to her, what did just happen to Tim, she pushed it aside. Having Klaus this unsettled scared her more than she thought possible. She needed him to be back to his normal cocky, moody self. "I'm safe," she said soothingly, wrapping her arms around him. He started at her embrace, but then he pressed her so tightly against himself that it was almost painful.

"I swear nothing like this will ever happen to you again. I will keep you safe," Klaus vowed.

"I know you will," she replied, pulling herself out of his arms. "Now can I please go home?"

The fear in Klaus's eyes gave way to fury. "You were almost killed on," he paused to heavily emphasize the next words, "my property." You aren't going anywhere until I figure out who is behind this and kill them."

Caroline bristled and strode over to her car. "No, I am going home."

"Love, if you think I am going to let you get into your car and go home after almost being murdered on my doorstep you are insane. You will stay here where I can offer some form of protection with my hybrids."

"I will not be forced into staying here. Do you want my mother, Elena, the Salvatores, everyone to find out about us and this incident?" Caroline waved her hands in the air with aggravation. "Because if they do, I can guarantee they would die rather than have you see me again."

Klaus ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. "You have no idea what you are asking of me."

"I think I am starting to."

"So what, I am supposed to just let you go home, leaving you open for attack?

Caroline rummaged through her purse for her keys. "First of all, we don't know for sure that the attack was for me, and if it was, they have proven they can get to me anywhere. Even here at your house."

"It was meant for you, I am sure of it," Klaus replied in a forbidding tone.

"Really? Because with all your enemies I am not so sure about that. So until you can prove that rogue hybrid was out to get me I am going home," Caroline said over her shoulder as she put her key in the door lock.

In a flash he was at her side. "My enemies would know they couldn't kill me with a hybrid bite."

At his words, she faltered with the key, before at last turning it. "If it was meant for me, I am sure that whoever is behind the attack will realize now that I am protected and no longer easy prey."

"So they will just try harder then," Klaus said coldly. When she didn't react the way he seemed to want, he fisted his hands in frustration. "Do you really mean to go home?"

"Yes," Caroline answered as she opened the car door.

"Then I'm going with you." Klaus held out his hand for her keys. "I'll drive."

With a huff, Caroline turned her keys over allowing Klaus to walk her to the passenger side of the car. He smoothly opened the door for her and she slid into the seat. She watched through the window as Klaus gave orders to the hybrids standing around. Several of them separated from the group and headed towards what she assumed were their cars at the end of the courtyard. Finished with his task, Klaus sat down in her car and started the engine.

"I have arranged for you to have plenty of protection at your home. I am sending my best and most loyal to look after you."

"And how exactly am I going to explain this to my mother? Are they going to be hanging out in my kitchen?"

Klaus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "No, I don't want them in your house. I don't want anyone there who doesn't have a personal invite from you. They will blend into your neighborhood, keep watch when I am not there."

"Don't tell me you are going to be hanging out in my kitchen?" Caroline asked sarcastically even thought she couldn't help but feel relief at the idea of the hybrids keeping an eye on things.

"I would if you would let me."

Caroline gave him an icy look.

"Then I will stay with you only until your mother gets home."

"You can't do that. What will she think? What will you tell her? She can't know about any of this," she argued, her voice shrill.

Klaus clenched his jaw before speaking. "That we are dating or the attack on your life?"

"Both, and we aren't really dating." Caroline knew he didn't like her answers by the way he stared straight ahead at the road, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard she knew that he was leaving dents.

As they pulled up into her driveway, Klaus stopping the car to park it, Caroline was aware of the cars that had followed them spreading out and parking among the other parked cars that littered the sides of the streets. She hated to admit it, but she did feel safer knowing they were there.

Klaus quickly checked out her house, exploring all the rooms before letting her inside. Yawning with exhaustion, Caroline turned to show him out the door, but before she could say anything he settled himself on the couch in the small family room.

"What are you doing?"

"I am waiting here until your mother gets home."

"Oh, no you're not. The first thing she will see when she walks in the door is you in her house."

"Then I had better find someplace else to wait where she can't see me. You're bedroom maybe?"

Caroline opened her mouth to refuse, but then she realized how futile it would be. It was obvious to her he wasn't going to leave her alone in the house and her mom was sure to catch him here if he was right out in the open in the middle of the house; so really, her bedroom did make the best option. "Fine," she sighed.

"Really?" Klaus asked, completely taken aback by her answer.

"Just let me get dressed and you can come in. It probably works better this way anyway because when my mom gets home you can leave through my window."

"Just like in Romeo and Juliet," he said mockingly.

Caroline just shook her head. They were anything but star-crossed lovers. Going into her room, she shut the door. Opening into her dresser drawer, she found one of her more concealing pajama sets. A simple silky blue tank and shorts two piece. Yawning continuously, she managed to slip them on. She opened her door, surprised to find him already standing outside.

His eyes roamed seductively over her silk clad form and even though she was covered more than with a swimsuit, she felt exposed and her cheeks got hot. "Nothing is going to happen between us," she warned him.

"No," he agreed, sauntering into her room. "I am just going to keep you company until your mother comes home.

Caroline climbed into her bed, pulling her blankets over herself tightly as he sat himself down on the other side of her mattress. "You will have to keep yourself company. I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Go to sleep then, love. I will be here keeping you safe."

"I know," Caroline replied sleepily. She had thought it would be weird to have him in her bedroom again, but instead it felt nice, comforting even. It denied reason, but for some reason she felt with him keeping watch over her nothing bad could happen. "Just stay out of my dreams, okay?" she said just before slowly drifting to sleep.

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><p>I want to thank all of my readers. This story now has over 100 alerts. I can't believe that many people are reading this story. Thank you. :)<p>

As always, much love to my reviewers Lexille, Vengeance-n-Luv, meagainpauline, , VolturiVixen, maevelin, Mercedes Stoner, jennat8, Fallendarkangel693, Cryxtal, ElisebethVE, tsukiko94, SharkGurl, mea-kh, Ariel C. Rilmonn, RadientWings, santh13, LoveandWinning, lily94, LovelyLynn92, Claire, Red Shagging Couch, Sci-fi Christian, beverlie4055, Matt-On-Matt, Clara, klaroline fan and KoffeeKath.

I am considering upping the rating on the story to M in the later chapters for some smut scenes. Is that going to be a problem? Also, my chapters just keep getting longer and I wonder if it would be better to break them down and update more often? Thoughts?


	7. Chapter 6

As always, thanks to ElisebethVE for her amazing beta work.

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><p>Klaus settled down comfortably next to Caroline on her bed, leaning back against the wood headboard and stretching his legs out on the mattress. His eyes swept over her delicate features, her skin pale as ivory and her hair almost silver in the moonlight. Already her eyelids were fluttering closed and he knew her battle against sleep would soon be lost. After her experiences today, he knew that what she needed most was rest. He should have never let her go into his mind the way he had. While she needed to learn these things, as they were important skills for any vampire's survival, he shouldn't have showed her the memory he had. If he had shown her something perfectly mundane like meeting Napoleon, she wouldn't have reacted or had the experience affect her like it had. He had taken a risk showing her a piece of her old life and they both had paid the price. It had been an unfortunate mistake and one he would not repeat. He would not be so foolish as to try and force memories she was not ready for again. It was just that he longed for her so desperately. Being in her bed, having her lying right next to him was the most exquisite torture. He wanted to bury his hands in her soft curls, ravish her mouth with his lips and bury himself deep into her willing body. The lust, the need for her was overwhelming and recognizable. He had felt the same way long ago in her first lifetime, but now having faced centuries without her his desire was at a fever pitch. He wasn't sure how much longer he could control himself. His inner beast howled with rage at his having not claimed Caroline as his mate and Queen already, making her forever his.<p>

With his fingertip he lovingly stroked one of Caroline's curls that lay on the edge of her pillowcase. He was careful not to pull or tug on it as he wound it around his finger, caressing the silken strands of hair between thumb and forefinger. It was amazing to him how exactly the same she was to his other Caroline. Her hair was just as soft, a touch of golden sunshine against his skin and he was reminded of how he used to tease his other Caroline, tugging on her curls to pull her into a kiss. Once again he thanked whatever power existed that had brought her back to him. Surely fate was not cruel enough to yank away his happiness again before he even had a chance to taste it? He needed to figure out who was behind this attack and why. He knew he had enemies, but there was no one outside of his circle at Mystic Falls that would know anything about his connection to Caroline. While there would always be gossip among the supernatural circles, he found it hard to believe that his attraction, his desire for a baby vampire, would already be common knowledge. Based on the attack today, he knew there had to be more to this. The attacker had to be someone well known and close to both him and Caroline and this thought terrified him.

Caroline murmured in her sleep, her fingers clutching at the blanket she had pulled up nearly to her chin and Klaus knew her slumber was disturbed tonight and he blamed himself. He had wanted this date to be perfect for her, for them. In his head he had visualized that in spending more time together she would recognize and accept her attraction to him, perhaps even remembering bits of their past. She would let down her guard and he would sweep her off her feet, showing her with his kisses and his touch how much he loved and worshipped her and at last she would recognize her love for him, that she was his. Instead, their date had consisted of an attack on her person, the death of a hybrid on her behalf, her almost falling into a coma and his failed attempt to get her to feed on a live human. It had not been a successful evening to say the least. Getting her to feed on Antoinette had been an especially huge failure. He should have realized from what he knew of her in the past and present that getting her to feed on another human would be almost impossible. Still, it was something she needed to be taught. Something that he needed her to get used to. It was fundamental to their nature, their very survival that they have blood and part of that was partaking from a living, breathing donor. Existing as she did on blood bags was no way to live. She was missing out on something very important in dining that way, she was not capturing the essence or the life giving force of the blood. It was just sustenance and barely that. To truly glean all the power from the blood she needed to eat it from the source. Klaus was just at a loss as how to impress upon her that in this time of danger it was even more important that she grow stronger and she needed a living victim for that. Taking blood from him as she had recently would help, but it was not enough.

Making a soft moan of pain, Caroline shifted in her sleep. Klaus wanted to know what she was dreaming, but he was going to respect her request to stay out of her head no matter how much it killed him. Reaching out for her hand, he grasped it in his, hoping his touch would calm her. He couldn't help smiling when she seemed to relax the instant she felt the heat of his skin on hers. He remembered another time, another place where he had soothed away her anguish. It had been the day after their first meeting at Elizabeth's I's court. The night before in the garden he had found out she was to hunt the next day with the Queen and he had vowed to get an invitation. Like he had promised Caroline it hadn't been difficult. The French Ambassador with some encouragement had managed to procure one for him. With little issue Klaus slipped into a memory that with each passing day had become clearer and more detailed.

It was a bright, sunny morning the day of the royal hunt and Klaus blinked at the sunlight, temporarily blinded as he mounted his black Arabian horse. He had especially chosen the animal from all the horses housed in the royal stables by visiting noblemen. Once he had decided on an animal it had been easy enough to track down the owner and convince him that he had lost the horse in a game of chance. He would have killed the man if it weren't for that fact that it would look suspicious for him to be seen as the owner of the man's horse so soon after his death. He couldn't afford any gossip about his person if he was to continue his pursuit of the lovely Caroline. All night he had wondered at his decision, the compulsion he had to save her life. He had never experienced such weakness, such desire for a human before. When he slept he had dreamed only of her, her soft body beneath him, his fangs in her neck and her fragrant blood in his mouth. He had woken up his whole body throbbing for her. Furious of the hold this mortal seemed to have on him, he had drained three blue-eyed blondes this morning just to get back at her. Now with the harsh light of morning upon him he hoped that upon seeing her again, her beauty would not hold up in the light of the day. He wanted more than anything for her to be nothing like the woman he remembered so he could kill her quickly and be on his way.

Lifting himself into the saddle, Klaus searched the crowd for any sign of her. She had said she would be here, but with each moment that passed without sight of her, his anger and frustration boiled closer and closer to the surface. There had to be at least twenty-five courtiers saddled in the courtyard not including the guards and grooms and he wanted to kill them all. A flurry of commotion caught the corner of his eye and he turned his head to see the Queen dressed in a riding gown of royal purple making her way towards the courtyard. The crowd parted for her, horses and dogs stepping out of her way so she could make her way to her horse standing in the center of the stable grounds. It took him but a moment for his eyes to lock on Caroline. She followed dutifully behind the Queen, a small figure dressed in a riding gown of dark blue velvet, the edges of it embroidered in silver and as she passed him the sun's rays brightened, haloing her in light. She was radiant, her hair like molten gold, her eyes as blue as a calm sea and her skin a delicate, rosy ivory. Something in Klaus's chest clenched painfully and his fingers tightened on the reins. She was just as he remembered from the night before, her pull just as strong and with disgust he realized he would not be leaving court anytime soon.

Anxious for the hunt to begin so he could approach Caroline, he watched with barely contained impatience as two groomsmen helped the Queen into her saddle. Even he had to admit with her looks past gone and her illness eating away at her she was still magnificent on a horse. A white horse was led out to where Caroline stood and a slight smile touched his lips as the young girl patted and cooed at the beast. A young, muscular groomsman came forward and Klaus almost growled when the groom's hands skimmed Caroline's tiny waist, raising her gracefully into the saddle. As she laughed and smiled sweetly at something the groom said Klaus became hot with jealousy. It should be his hands that touched her, his words that brought joy and a smile to her face. He decided then the groom would not last the night.

One of the Queen's servants blew a series of notes on a horn signaling the beginning of the hunt. With a flick of the reins, Klaus's horse surged forward. He headed towards the Queen along with the rest of the crowd, making his way out of the courtyard and into the hunting park. Once there he looked over the terrain, his acute vampire senses honing in on the rabbits attempting to hide in the underbrush, the flap of wings in the tall pine trees and the acrid smell of a fresh fox carcass. He could sense no deer yet, the object of the hunt, but they were still terribly close to the bustle of Whitehall for them to be present.

Klaus's gaze once again sought out Caroline. Sitting tall and straight in her saddle, her body moving gracefully with her horse, she rode as beautifully as she danced. Next to her and the Queen rode de Maisse, the French Ambassador, and having caught sight of Klaus, the ambassador separated from the group, heading straight towards him.

"Monsieur le Vicomte," de Maisse greeted with excitement.

Klaus inclined his head. "Monsieur de Maisse."

The Ambassador pulled his horse up next to Klaus's, switching to French, "You have made an impression on Her Majesty. All morning she has spoken of you, asking a variety of questions about your prospects and background."

"And what have you told her?" Klaus asked in the same language, his voice deceptively calm even as he twisted the reins around his fingers until they cut into his flesh through the leather gloves he wore. He hated that his pursuit of Caroline had thrust him into the public eye. Normally he was content to reside in the shadows of the court, known only by those who held the real power behind the scenes. He didn't have such a choice here in England. Not when his interests lay with a young woman who was so close to the Queen. It didn't surprise him that Elizabeth was asking questions about him. Not with her spies all over Whitehall. It was entirely possible she even knew that Caroline had taken him to the Rose Garden last night. What bothered him the most is what the Ambassador might have unknowingly shared about him that could possibly raise suspicion. He would be foolish to think that he had completely erased his name from the hint of scandal that had sent him to England. While his involvement in the Huguenot murders couldn't be proven, there was still talk. Still, he assumed that he had contained the gossip enough it shouldn't have reached de Maisse's ears.

"Nothing, but that which is common knowledge," the Ambassador rushed to assure him.

Studying the Ambassador's demeanor, the bewildered expression on his face and the lack of a telltale racing pulse in his body, Klaus was sure he didn't. "Did the Queen give reason for her questions?"

"Not especially," Monsieur de Maisse answered, but he hesitated just enough that Klaus knew he had a suspicion.

"Come now, you must have some idea of the Queen's intent after spending all morning with her?"

Monsieur de Maisse glanced around furtively, but seeing that no one was particularly interested in their conversation he leaned in to speak under his breath, "From her questions, I believe she is either considering you for some position at her court or as a potential match for one of her English ladies."

Klaus wondered if Caroline had said anything to the Queen about their meeting in the garden and their conversations. He could understand that Elizabeth would be very interested in his background and pedigree if she thought her favored handmaiden and Goddaughter was dallying with a French aristocrat. The thought that Caroline might have girlishly confided to the Queen about her interest in him pleased Klaus. Even though it made their courtship even more public, he at least knew he had made an impact on her. The only problem he foresaw is that it would be that much harder to seduce and eventually kill her without being caught. He would have to tread more carefully than he ever had before, but to taste Caroline, to ravish her was ultimately worth the price he would pay.

"Monsieur le Vicomte, the Queen, she wishes you to come forward," the Ambassador said in a hushed voice. "She does France honor to favor us so."

It was true, The Queen was gesturing for them to approach her royal person. Klaus without waiting for the Ambassador touched the heels of his boots to his horse's sides, pushing the animal into a trot to catch up to Caroline and the Queen.

"Monsieur le Vicomte de Beaumont, you are looking well this morning," The Queen commented with amusement. "Fresh air seems to agree with you, don't you think so, Lady Caroline?"

Caroline shyly lifted her eyes to Klaus and he boldly caught and held her gaze until color bloomed in her pale cheeks. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"You ride as if you had been born to, Monsieur le Vicomte. I have always admired a man who could sit a horse," The Queen said with approval.

"And I was right last night to call you the Goddess Diana. You put us mortals all to shame," Klaus flattered, an ironic note to his voice that the Queen did not catch.

She smiled and Klaus knew she had enjoyed his outrageous compliment. He stole another look at Caroline and was disappointed to find her eyes focused ahead.

"The Ambassador speaks highly of you. We would like to see you stay at court for a time. We have written to Our Brother sovereign and ally in France requesting your continued presence," The Queen announced abruptly.

It was a royal command. While Klaus hated to be told what to do, for once he didn't mind, as it was exactly his intention to stay as long as it took to seduce Caroline. "I would be honored to serve you as long as you wish."

Several of the outriders who had been sent ahead to scout deer came galloping towards them shouting that there had been a sighting up ahead. The hunting dogs followed barking excitedly. One of the Queen servants handed her a bow and quiver of arrows and she eagerly dug her heels into her horses flank, pushing her horse into full speed. Klaus and Caroline followed, urging their horses into a gallop along with the rest of the hunting party.

Klaus flew through the woods behind the Queen, Caroline keeping pace with him. This was the part of the hunt he enjoyed the most, the wild frenzy of the ride, the cornering of prey. As the hunting dogs once more picked up the scent of the deer, they grew more frantic in their barking. At last Klaus saw the animals running through the forest, their beauty magnified by their graceful movements. They sprinted through the thick woods, their eyes white with fear as the dogs nipped at their heels. Cornered and surrounded at last by the dogs and horses they slowed and Elizabeth raised her bow shooting off an arrow. It hit a doe in the side and it fell to the ground in a heap. Klaus sniffed the scent of the deer's blood in the air and he was thankful for his age and his self-control. It had been centuries since the blood of an animal had affected him.

As the Queen came to a stop beside the fallen doe, Klaus noticed that Caroline had turned her horse away from the animal and walked it away from the group. Elizabeth must have noticed his interest in her handmaiden because she turned her head to give him a frustrated look.

"My Lady Caroline is too kind-hearted for her own good. While she enjoys the ride, she cannot stand the killing. It is something I keep urging her to get past, but the girl is stubborn and refuses to do so." The doe made a sound of pain and the Queen let loose another arrow, this time hitting the deer in the center of its forehead.

"With your permission, Your Majesty, I would check on the Lady Caroline?"

The Queen was silent, her calculating gaze falling on him as if she was evaluating his trustworthiness and his intentions. Klaus cursed the fact that so many witnesses surrounded him. It made it impossible to compel her to get his way.

To his relief, Elizabeth at last nodded. "Don't let her cry for too long. It isn't good for her," she said with a sigh.

Klaus turned his horse, searching for the vision dressed in blue. He saw her far ahead in the distance. Whipping his reins against his horse's neck he signaled the animal to run. It took mere moments for him to catch up to Caroline. True to the Queen's words, tears trembled on her dark lashes, her eyes deep pools of pain.

"Have you come to mock me?" she asked her tone laced with bitterness.

"Never, my Lady," he replied gently. "Your tenderness merely reveals your kind heart."

"The others do. They find me to be feeble-minded and silly because I do not enjoy the killing of animals. There have even been questions as to my sanity," she laughed hollowly, wiping at her eyes. "And yes, I do realize I am a contradiction since I participate in the eating of meat, but I can't bear the process that puts it on the table. Father Leonard tells me all the time that animals were put on earth by God for our sustenance, but I cannot stand to watch their suffering and death."

The thought of anyone being cruel to Caroline or thinking her feeble-minded had Klaus furious. He couldn't quite explain why since he himself found her reasoning to be quite ridiculous, but still it bothered him. "Who are these people? Let me defend your honor."

"It is of no matter. They will think what they will," She said softly, smiling up at him through her tears. "Would you really do battle to protect my honor?"

Klaus wanted to shout no. It went against everything he stood for. He would never be so weak-hearted as to fight for a mortal's honor, but looking into her beautiful face, her eyes shining with pleasure at the thought he was very much afraid he would. Anything to keep her tears at bay and to keep her looking at him like he truly was her white knight and savior. "Of course, with sword or dagger I would defend you from the slights of others. Under my care, you would never suffer an ill word or insult."

The radiant smile Caroline bestowed on him, her face alight with happiness had him wishing that there were a dragon he could slay for her. At the disgusting thought Klaus was tempted to drag her from her horse and drain her dry just to prove she had no hold on him. Instead he forced a calm he did not feel, focusing on the ultimate reward of having a willing Caroline to feed from.

"Are you skilled with sword and dagger, my Lord? They say at the French court the gentlemen are most talented with powder and rouge," Caroline teased.

Klaus chuckled at her playful taunt. "I wouldn't like to boast, but there are few that can measure their weaponry talents against mine."

"Maybe in France, but here in England? I have been told my whole life of the superiority of the English in all sports. I think a display of your talents is in order," Caroline challenged her eyes sparkling merrily.

Unsheathing his hunting dagger from its scabbard at his waist Klaus lifted it to the light, twirling it between his fingers. "Pick your target."

Caroline lifted her hand to shade the sun's rays from her eyes as she gazed into the distance. At last she pointed to a slim tree about 25 feet away. "Can you hit that?"

He flashed her an amused smile. "I shall prove to you how lacking your English courtiers are." Throwing back his arm, he flung the dagger with just a mere fraction of his strength. The blade whistled through the air, landing in the tree with a thud.

Spurring her horse forward, Caroline moved to directly in front of the tree. Once there she stared long and hard at the knife, before turning to look at him. "You split the tree."

Klaus urged his horse to join hers. Buried to the hilt, his dagger had cracked the trunk of the tree into two pieces. "It must have been rotten in the middle," he explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You didn't embellish the truth at all. I take back everything I said. You are truly skilled." Caroline looked to him her eyes wide and admiring and Klaus felt something akin to pride in his chest. It was silly that something so little could impress her, but Klaus knew he would gladly have his skills tested again just to have her continue to look at him that way.

"Does this mean you will no longer disparage my fellow Frenchmen?" Klaus teased.

"All, but you," she replied playfully.

Klaus laughed and placed his hand around the dagger, yanking it free from the tree.

"Did your father teach you weaponry?" she asked with hesitation and he knew she was remembering his reaction to discussing his family the evening before.

"No," he said coldly. Swallowing back the anger rising from his belly into his throat, he shoved his dagger back into its scabbard. "It was my brother."

Caroline flicked her reins, moving her horse into a walk. "What is your brother's name?"

Klaus looked at her sharply as his horse joined hers. He wasn't used to people asking him about his family. Usually, whoever had the misfortune to bring up the subject experienced a painful death. He didn't want to answer, but looking into her curious and interested face he found himself complying. Besides he reminded himself he was just answering to lull her into believing that there was enough of a connection between them that she would freely give him her blood.

"Elijah. My father," the word stuck in Klaus's throat, almost gagging him, but he continued, "never had time for such things. It was my older brother Elijah who took on the task of teaching me." Klaus remembered another time, another place. There had been a fight between his mother and father over his education and Elijah had stepped in to right his father's neglect. Even though Elijah had suffered his father's displeasure in working with Klaus on his weaponry skills he had not given up. Day and night he had tirelessly taught Klaus everything he knew until Klaus was able to surpass Elijah's own skills. He wondered if Elijah regretted it now that they had been at odds for a century, ever since Katherine had entered their lives and his brother had done the unforgiveable and developed feelings for that creature.

"So it is just you and Elijah," Caroline prodded.

"No, I have two other brothers, Finn and Kol." He didn't like to think about Finn and his misfortunate alliance with that woman, Sage. Maybe a few centuries in his box would cool his ardor. As for Kol, he was always on the move dangerously wrecking havoc wherever he went.

"Three brothers? I can't imagine the chaos of the house you grew up in," Caroline laughed. "Your poor mother."

He refused to think of his mother, her body crumpled in the ground, her face devoid of any spark of life. "I have a sister, too, Rebekah," Klaus added bluntly.

Caroline's eyes lit up, sparking as brightly as the sun's rays on water. "Poor Rebekah, surrounded by all you boys. The stories she would be able to tell of your exploits as a child."

"I don't think they would be very nice ones. My sister has a devilish streak."

"Like her brother, I think." Caroline smiled up at him, her eyes soft and yearning and he was pleased to realize already he was worming his way into her heart.

Klaus threw his leg over his horse, dismounting. "Will you walk with me a bit, my lady?" He asked as he tied his horse's reins around a stout oak tree.

"I would like to, but there is the Queen. She may have need of me." Caroline looked guiltily around the woods and Klaus was sure she was looking for signs of the Royal hunting party. Fortunately for him he knew they had already moved on.

"She sent me after you, to check on you. I don't believe she was expecting you to return." Klaus wasn't sure what the Queen was expecting, but he wasn't about to return Caroline to Elizabeth. Not yet. Caroline bit her lip and he knew she was wracked with indecision. She needed only just a slight push and he knew she could be convinced. He moved over to her, catching her horses bridle in his hand and led the animal towards where his horse was tied up. "If the Queen needs you she will send someone to fetch you. They haven't gone very far."

Caroline nodded her head and handed him the reins, which he promptly tied around the nearest tree. Wrapping his hands around her small waist, he gently lifted her from the saddle. This close to her, he could see the fluttering of her pulse under the delicate, thin skin at the hollow of her throat and smell her intoxicating rose scent that overlay the rich, fragrant smell of her blood. His whole body tightened in response and never before had he wanted a woman so badly. She was just above him, her lips a breath away from his and it took all of his self control to lower her to the ground. As he did so he heard her breath catch in her throat and he wanted desperately to kiss her, but he was afraid of moving too fast and scaring her away. Yet his instincts told him he couldn't move too slow either. He had to move swiftly, but carefully, ensnaring her whole heart until her only desire was to be with him. Only then would she offer herself up willingly, wholeheartedly welcoming her death at his hands and he could at last move on and rid her from his mind.

"You are very lucky in your siblings, your family. My whole life I have wished for brothers and sisters, for a family," Caroline said, her face shadowed with sadness as she took his arm.

"My family and I are frequently at odds," Klaus replied stiffly. He didn't like to think of how they continually disappointed and irritated him in equal turns.

Caroline squeezed his arm. "But at least they are there. You don't have to be alone."

"Do you feel alone, my lady?"

"Always," She said in a small voice. "Unlike you, I am alone with no family to call my own. While I do have the favor of the Queen, she is still the Queen and I can't ever forget that."

Klaus frowned, her sorrow disturbed him and it was sickening. She was rousing new and unknown emotions in him that he didn't remember ever having experienced before. "What of the court? The other handmaidens? Haven't they become your family?"

"It is at court I feel the loneliest. I am an orphan and I am constantly reminded of it. The other handmaidens come and have families, parents who arrange matches for them, or if they don't, a nobleman soon chooses them and they leave to be married. It is a continuous revolving door and every time one of them leaves I wish it was me, but it never is. I know I am not the prettiest one, or the most connected, but still I want to be chosen."

"I would choose you if given the choice," Klaus answered, his voice deepening to a purr. Staring into her startled eyes, he threw propriety to the wind, grazing her cheek with the back of his hand. "I would always choose you."

"My lord," she whispered and the address became an endearment as if fell from her lips.

In that moment, Klaus knew he had her, knew he could kiss her if he wished, but he held back. She was so beautiful, so innocent in the way she looked up at him and he was reminded of a lamb unknowingly coming to its slaughter. He didn't understand what he was feeling, this horrible ache in his chest that refused to subside. Was this the sickness that had befallen Elijah and Finn? If so, he wouldn't bear it, wouldn't stand for it one minute longer. Damn the consequences he would kill her now. He pulled back from her, turning his head and forcing his fangs to elongate and his bloodlust to come to the surface. He focused on the beating of her heart, the blood rushing through her veins, anything but the look of sincerity and trust on her face.

He heard it then, the rustle of grasses and bushes, and the sound of frantic hoofs on the ground and he wondered how he hadn't noticed it earlier. There was an animal bearing down on them. He wondered if the horses had attracted it or if they had stumbled to close to the things home. Caroline froze next to him and even with his vampiric instincts so close to the surface he remembered her ignorance of his true nature and so with expert precision he pulled his dagger from its sheath. With a crash a wild boar came tearing through the trees towards them and he pulled back his arm waiting for just the right moment. It came within seconds, the animal feet from them when he at last threw his dagger. With deadly precision he aimed for right between the animal's eyes. The boar squealed and fell to the ground inches from their feet. It grunted and whimpered in pain and then with a squeal its eyes rolled up into its head and it was dead.

Klaus turned to Caroline, sure that she would be thrilled and grateful at his heroic kill. Instead, he found her eyes wide with shock, her complexion drained of all color and her body stiff with fear. "My lady?"

Caroline didn't even blink. She just stared at him blankly.

He had seen this before. Caroline was in shock, stuck in the horror of the moment. Klaus cupped her face in his hands, staring deep into her icy, blue eyes. "Caroline," he murmured soothingly. "You are safe. I swear it. Nothing can hurt you, not now."

With those words, she at last blinked, her eyes focusing at last on Klaus's face. Her limbs trembled and as she swayed on her feet, Klaus gathered her into his arms. He quickly moved her away from the dead carcass, back towards their horses. She was so tiny, like a small helpless bird in his embrace and seeing her like this battered at the defenses he had built around his heart. He no longer felt the need to kill and hurt her and he wondered at this. Had he had a change of heart? All he knew was that he couldn't bear to see her so quiet, so still and empty, and like the prince in a fairy story he wanted to awaken her, bring her back to life. Pressing his lips against her hair, he held her close to his chest.

"Niklaus," she whispered as tears filled her eyes.

The sound of his name on her lips did something to him, stirred in him an intense need to protect her, to make her happy and bring a smile once more to her face. "You are safe," he repeated again, hoping to calm her.

"I thought I was going to die, just like my mother." Caroline could no longer hide back her tears and they streamed down her face. "She was attacked by a wild boar. The thing knocked her from her horse and trampled her."

"You are not going to die. I promise, the animal is dead. I killed it myself."

"Yes," she replied simply, but he could tell that she was still reliving the ordeal.

Klaus slowly lowered her to the ground and as she slipped from his arms, he felt the loss like a piece of his flesh had been torn away. What was she doing to him? He wanted to curse at her, shake her and get her to explain this hold she had on him, but instead he reached out with his leather, gloved hand and wiped her tears away.

"Thank you." Caroline took one step towards him and then another until she stood directly beneath him. She looked up at him, her eyes soft and shining and when she reached out to gently stroke his rough cheek he felt a dull ache where his heart was supposed to be. Then standing on her tiptoes, she brushed her lips against his in a chaste kiss. The feather-light touch, so sweet and trusting, struck him to his core. Raw emotion flooded him, his senses reeling at the onslaught. For the first time in centuries, in the darkest places of his being, he felt a flicker of light. Something was happening to him, changing him and he seemed powerless to stop it.

Caroline stepped away from him, lowering her eyes as her cheeks flushed a dark pink. "Forgive me. I don't know what I was thinking."

There was no calculation in what Klaus did next. Swooping down he caught her mouth with his, cupping her face with his hands. With all the gentleness he possessed he rained kisses down on her soft lips with tiny, delicate touches. A soft sigh floated on the air when her mouth at last opened to his. He took his time, suckling on her bottom lip before at last moving to taste her. She was sunshine, honey and wine all mingled together. At the caress of his tongue on hers, she seemed to unfurl before him like a blossom to the morning light. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers weaving into his hair, pulling him even closer to her. The press of her lithe figure against his own, her small breasts jutting against his chest and her hips molding to his was enough to drive him crazy with desire. Without thinking, Klaus deepened the kiss, his hands smoothing their way down the curve of her spine and she moaned against his mouth. He had never known such strong want, such an overwhelming desire to possess, but he couldn't take her like this. Not here on the forest floor with the stench of death in the air. For her there should be the romance of moonlight, the sensual touch of fine silken sheets and no threat of rude interruption. Something he couldn't guarantee as even now he could sense the vibration of hoofs in the ground and the faint sound of barking. While still out of normal hearing range the Royal hunt was drawing closer.

Klaus pulled his mouth from hers and Caroline made a small sound of protest. He felt her move to step away from him and he held her tighter in his arms, not wishing to let her go just yet. "Now it is my turn to ask your forgiveness," he rumbled in a deep voice against her silky hair.

"My lord, there is nothing to forgive. Except maybe the fact that you stopped," she answered shyly, hiding her head in his chest.

"I am, my lord, to you once again? After the most exquisite kiss I have ever experienced?"

Caroline abruptly pulled away from him, turning her head to look at him with what looked like anger. "You are mocking me? You must know I am an innocent in these things and as such you shouldn't tease me so."

He almost wished he were. It was beyond comprehension to him that someone so completely naïve in the ways of passion and seduction should hold him in such thrall. "Caroline – "

"I didn't give you permission to call me by my name," she threw at him as she whirled around to head back to where their horses were waiting.

"Caroline." Klaus moved to follow after her and as he did so he heard the hunt coming closer towards them.

She stopped in front of her horse, an annoyed look on her face as she was faced with the reality that she had no way to mount her horse without him. "My lord," she said stiffly as he stepped in front of her. "If you would kindly assist me."

Wrapping his hands around her waist, he trapped her between himself and her horse. Avoiding his eyes, she huffed with annoyance when he didn't immediately lift her into the saddle. "Caroline, I would never mock you." At these words, she seemed to melt a little, but still she refused to meet his gaze. He didn't know what to say to reassure her other than the whole confusing and disturbing truth. "What passed between us, the kiss we shared, it was like none other I have ever experienced."

Caroline's eyes darted suspiciously to his, looking for signs of his honesty and he kept his gaze steady on her. He needed her to believe him, needed her to see his sincerity in this. It was the one thing he could be honest with her about.

"What of all the women you have kissed back home at the French court?"

Klaus couldn't help but laugh. Caroline was jealous. Jealous of women whose lips he didn't even remember, women who had given him only a fleeting moment of pleasure when he first bit into them and their blood spurted into his mouth. "There are no other women, no other kisses that could possibly compare to this."

He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her with a slow, savoring kiss. Her body liquefied in his arms, her hands finding their way to his chest as she opened her mouth, enticing him to enter. He submitted, sliding his tongue silkily against hers. She made a soft sound of pleasure and he tangled his hands in her hair, angling her head so that he could seek out the depths of her mouth. As she breathed, he stole her breath.

Even as he lost himself in the kiss, he couldn't help but wonder what he was doing? He knew he desired Caroline's body and her blood, but he was beginning to realize that he wanted more than that. He wanted to possess all of her, her heart and soul. This terrible need terrified and confused in equal measures. He had thought that by seducing and killing her he would know peace, but now he was very much afraid that he would only ever know peace within her arms.

With a groan of frustration, Klaus pulled his mouth from hers. He could hear the Queen's hunting party bearing down on them and if he was ever to be allowed near Caroline again he knew they couldn't be caught in such a delicate position.

"The Queen is coming," he said, cupping her face with his hand and stroking his thumb across the satin skin of her cheek. "If you truly wish me gone from your life and court you can denounce me in minutes. Or give me a chance, Caroline. Allow me to prove to you that for me there is only you." He knew he was taking a grave risk by placing such power in her hands. Caroline had only to say the word and he would be banished from Elizabeth's court and from her presence, but he needed to know if she would chose him.

Looking up at him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes dark with passion he knew that she desired him, but was that enough for her? He didn't want to compel her or influence her. He wanted her to offer herself up to him of her own free will. For some reason, this was important to him. She hesitated for a moment, composing herself, before she at last spoke, "I don't know what has come over me that I should act in such a brazen manner with you, my Lord. It is not my habit to kiss gentleman I have just met."

"But, you did. You kissed me first."

Caroline bit her lip, but she slowly nodded her agreement. "There is something between us, something I do not understand and the power of it scares me. Yet to lose the chance to figure out what this all means, to lose you, scares me more, my lord. I have no choice, but to choose you."

Klaus felt a lightness in his being at her words, her choice. She had chosen him, willingly and without compulsion. He wanted to kiss her again, show her just how much her answer pleased him, but there was little time now. He knew he grinned like a fool as he lifted her into her saddle, but he didn't care. "You won't regret your decision."

He un-tied their horses reins from the tree they were tied too, handing Caroline hers before he mounted his horse. It was just in time as the hunting part thundered through the trees. The dogs, scenting the dead boar began barking frantically, running off to find the carcass and several of the huntsmen followed.

"Ah, Monsieur le Vicomte, I trust you have taken good care of Lady Caroline in my absence?" The Queen greeted, her bright eyes flitting from Klaus to Caroline and then back again.

"Your Majesty, he saved my life. A wild boar flew at us from the trees and he managed to kill it with one throw of his dagger," Caroline interjected, looking towards Klaus with a proud look on her face. "If not for him, I am sure I would have suffered the same fate as my mother."

The Queen inhaled sharply, "This is true, Monsieur le Vicomte?"

Klaus inclined his head gracefully.

"Then we are in your debt." The Queen turned to peer at Caroline, the stiff features of her face softening with concern. "You are unharmed, Lady Caroline?"

He knew that the Queen could see that Caroline was physically unharmed so she must be worried about her Goddaughter's mental state. She had to know how fragile Caroline still was over her mother's attack and death.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Caroline replied, offering the Queen a reassuring smile.

The pack of dogs returned, the huntsmen in tow. One of the men carried Klaus's bloody weapon in his hands.

"The dagger belongs to Monsieur le Vicomte de Beaumont. Return it to him," The Queen commanded.

The huntsman who carried the dagger moved towards Klaus, wiping the blood from the dagger on his tunic before handing the weapon back to him. Klaus slid the dagger back into its scabbard.

"Taylor and Smith escort Lady Caroline back to the palace." Caroline opened her mouth to protest, but the Queen held up her hand, cutting her off. "She has had enough excitement for the day."

With a last look at Klaus, Caroline turned her horse towards the group of huntsmen. Taylor and Smith separated from their fellow hunters, taking a position on either side of her guiding her back to Whitehall. The Queen spurred her horse forward in the opposite direction and the rest of the hunting party followed her. Klaus yearned to follow Caroline back to the palace, but he knew that he couldn't leave the hunting party without the Queen's permission. So instead he watched her small figure until the trees of the forest swallowed her from sight.

Klaus straightened, pulling himself out of his memory as he heard Liz Forbes car pulling into the driveway. He needed to leave because if Liz found him here, Caroline would never forgive him. That needed to change. Tomorrow he would make it clear to Caroline that they needed to involve her mother in her protection. He was very worried that there would be another attack soon and he needed to have complete access to Caroline at all times to protect her and that would require Liz's permission. Having spent countless lifetimes without Caroline, he wasn't about to risk losing her now.

Before taking his leave of her, he brushed his lips lightly against hers. It was not a kiss good-bye, but one that held all the promise of things to come.

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><p>Caroline fitfully awoke to the sound of her mother fumbling around in the kitchen. Opening heavy lidded eyes, she turned to look at where Klaus had sat next to her only to find the space empty. For some reason she felt his loss keenly and she wasn't sure if it was the lack of a protector or because she genuinely missed him. Either way she ignored the flicker of sadness she felt deep inside her at his absence and instead forced her eyes closed once more. It was still the middle of the night and she needed to be thinking about sleep and not Klaus. Slowly she allowed herself to sink into the darkness in her mind, until she was completely lost to the reality around her.<p>

Bright colors flashed, all the shades of the rainbow swirling before her eyes. The lilting strains of a lute, the melodic strumming of a guitar and the thumping of drums filled her ears. Above her hundreds of candles were mounted in iron chandeliers, bathing the stone room in golden light. Surrounding her were crowds of courtiers dressed in fantastical costumes their faces hidden by masks. She saw shepherds and shepherdesses, mermaids and mermen and numerous Arthurs and Guineveres. At the center of it all, dressed as the Goddess Diana in a silver-feathered mask and matching flowing robe embroidered with crescent moons was the Queen.

Caroline wandered the crowd, her white silk gown swishing around her gracefully. Her gaze was focused as she scanned the costumed nobility, her senses on alert for the familiar sight of Niklaus. She told herself she would recognize him anywhere, even in a mask. He would never be able to hide the beauty of his piercing blue eyes, their color constantly switching with his moods. Just thinking of the way he looked at her, as if she was responsible for every breath he took made her tingle all over. He had a way of seeing not only the physical, but also that which she held deeply in her heart. With every day that passed she was beginning to think he knew her better than she knew herself.

She didn't have to seek him out. Caroline knew the second he found her. She could feel his gaze on her, the heat scorching her through the silk of her gown and it almost made her swoon. The music in her ears was reduced to a distant hum, the air around her became still and the courtiers that lay between faded away. The crowd seemed to part for him like the Red Sea as he strode regally towards her. He was dressed all in black velvet with an antique looking gold crown on his head and a midnight colored mask on his face. As he moved towards her, the candles above flickered, shadowing his face in darkness and she was reminded sharply of one of the black woodcuts of death found in Father Leonard's biblical book of Revelations. A long, slow shiver slid through her and when they were at last face to face she found she was at a loss for words.

"My lady," he greeted politely, offering her a courtly bow, his deference very much at odds with the devilish smirk upon his face.

Lowering her eyes, she dipped into a curtsy. "My lord."

"Tonight you may address me as My Lord Hades," Klaus teased. "And from your costume it looks as if I have found my," he softened his voice to a purr, "bride."

Caroline cheeks went hot at the way his gaze boldly roved over her figure. She felt practically naked in her costume. Tonight, she wore no hoop or farthingale under her gown only a silk Grecian dress adorned with handmade silk flowers. Her hair was loose and unbound, hanging down her back and on her head was a wreath fashioned of the Queen's white and pink roses.

Suddenly it all made sense to her as to why the Queen had insisted on this costume. Caroline had planned to go as a fairy with silken wings, but her Majesty had dismissed the idea and had even gone so far as to have this gown made for her, placing the wreath of roses on her head herself.

"A very unwilling one if I remember correctly," Caroline countered playfully. "Hades stole Persephone from her friends and family, forcing her to live in darkness for most of the year.

A frown appeared on Klaus's face. "She was only unwilling in the beginning. Once she saw Hade's great love for her, understood how much she meant to him, she returned his love."

"Did she? Or did Hades leave her no choice? She was alone in his kingdom, completely dependent on him and his will. She had no one else but the dark creatures of hell to keep her company. Living like this it is no wonder she developed feelings for him, but were they of her own free will?"

"How could she not return his feelings?" Klaus's asked his voice heavy with passion, his eyes glittering like a starry night. "Hades loved her so much he risked the wrath of the Gods and Goddesses of Olympus to have her. He gave her everything she could have wished for, showering her with gifts and precious jewels, making her Queen of his kingdom and his heart."

Klaus's words, his silken voice, swirled seductively around her like a wisp of smoke. Self-consciously her fingertips went to the necklace wrapped around her throat.

"It was with gifts just like this that Hades wooed his bride" he murmured, hooking a finger under one of the pearl strands of her necklace, lifting it from where it lay across her décolleté.

Caroline's breath quickened in her breast at the intimate gesture. The necklace had arrived that morning at the Queen's dressing chambers addressed to her, but without any sign of whom the gift was from. She would never have been able to accept such a costly present, but since there was no way to return it, the Queen had allowed her to accept the necklace. Made of three pearl strands and adorned with a huge emerald set in gold filigree it must have cost a small fortune. "Did you send this to me?"

"It looks beautiful on you," Klaus answered with a gentle curve of his lips. "A gift fit for a Queen." He released the strand of pearls and it fell against her breast, scorching her skin.

Desire flared in her, fire dancing over her sensitive flesh even as she realized he hadn't answered the question. "If it wasn't you who sent it…perhaps it was Lord Randolph?" Caroline questioned, her tone light and teasing. "He does always stare at me so."

Even in the flickering candlelight she could see his face harden, his eyes gleaming with all the violence of a predator and her breath stilled in her throat.

"I will cut out his eyes the next time he so much as glances at you," Klaus growled low in his throat.

For the first time since she had met him, she felt a slither of fear wind its way into her heart at his strong reaction. He sounded as if he was jealous. She had always heard men could be driven wild with jealousy, but she had never thought she would experience it firsthand. That she could evoke such an emotion from Niklaus thrilled her, made her feel powerful and dangerous all at the same time.

"You're jealous," she taunted, even though she knew she shouldn't play with fire she couldn't resist.

Niklaus grasped her wrist with his hand, yanking her from the crowd that surrounded them and out into the entryway of the Presence Chamber. Caroline knew she could protest and stop him from removing her from the masquerade, but with her heart hammering in her chest she followed him. Every nerve ending in her body tingled with fear and excitement as he led her down the dark corridor, pulling her at last into an empty hallway. There were no candles lit here, the only light came from the moonlight streaming in from the high arched windows above. As Caroline's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she heard the distant hum of conversation and music from the Masquerade and she knew that they were far enough from the Queen that there was little chance of them being discovered. She gasped as Niklaus pressed her against the cold stonewall, trapping her with his body.

"Shall I take you as Hades took Persephone?" Klaus asked, a threat in the silk of his voice. "Take you away from your beloved Queen and everything you hold dear? Imprison you where no male mortal shall ever be able to gaze on you again?"

Caroline shivered and wondered what monster in Niklaus she had provoked with her teasing. He spoke as if he truly could steal her away and for a fanciful moment she almost believed him. "If you did that, you would never gain my love."

"Not even with gifts like this?" Klaus asked as his fingertip traced the edge of her pearl necklace with a feather light touch that had her holding her breath. "Or kisses like this one?" His mouth swooped down to catch hers, his lips moving over hers hungrily. He kissed her with ferociousness, a passion unlike any she had experienced with him. His tongue masterfully caught hers with a forceful caress and her body, instead of denying him, melted against him, her breasts swelling softly against the hard planes of his chest. Her whole being was set afire at his kiss and she burned, every part of her aching for something she couldn't put into words. When at last he pulled his lips from hers, she sighed at the loss.

"I will have you, Caroline," he vowed and Caroline couldn't help the shudder that ran though her body at his words. Before she could even begin to formulate a response his mouth sought hers once more, harsh and demanding. Without thought, her arms wound around his neck, pulling him even closer to her. Pressed so tightly against him, feeling his lean, muscular body rub slightly against hers, she was overcome with brand new sensations that left her tingling everywhere. As he mated his mouth to hers, together they found a rhythm that stole her breath away. Her whole body burned and her loose gown suddenly felt tight and constraining as every inch of her highly sensitized skin yearned for his touch. What was he doing to her? She had never felt so wild, so wanton before.

He drew back his head to stare at her, his eyes ringed with gold in the moonlight and the look of need, the desire she saw there scared her. What they felt for one another was not natural, it couldn't be and she worried they were damned. Father Leonard had often warned her of the devil and now she knew it must live inside of her because she would sell her soul to have Niklaus look at her like that forever. When he pressed his lips to her throat, lightly nipping with his teeth she swooned weakly against the wall and Niklaus wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her. He sought and found a sensitive spot in the curve of her neck that had her seeing black spots in her vision and she heard him moan before he took the delicate skin between his lips and sucked. His tongue swirled lightly, his teeth scraping and she fisted her fingers in his hair tugging hard as exquisite pleasure flooding her body.

One of his hands moved to cup her breast, his thumb raking a hardened nipple through the silk of her gown and she made an incoherent sound that came from some deep place within her. Greedily, he lowered his head to the tight little bud, curling and uncurling his tongue against the thin material of her bodice, until the gentle friction had her gasping for air. When at last he fastened his mouth to her nipple and sucked, she went still.

"Do you know what you want, Caroline? What your body wants?" Niklaus murmured against her breast, his voice thin and frayed.

She wanted him, but she couldn't say it. She knew that to admit to him, to herself, this truth was to give him power over her. Show him that like Persephone to Hades she could be seduced to his will.

Caroline shook her head from side to side.

He made a sound of frustration, his hands lifting her skirts, sliding to cup her bottom. The heated touch of his fingers sliding over her bare skin caused her to buck and when she did so, he grasped her hips setting her against the most male part of his body. A choked cry was torn from her lips as he held her tightly against him, her softness against his hardness and when he gently rocked against her now swollen sex she saw stars.

"This is just the beginning of what I can give you," Klaus said roughly.

Slowly he tilted his hips, grinding against her and Caroline weakly buried her head on his shoulder. She wasn't sure if she should shove him away and run or push herself brazenly against him. He shifted again, touching her in just the right spot so she could feel the length of him and she flushed with embarrassment. He was so much bigger than she had ever dreamed a man could be. While she had seen artist renderings of the male body, the reality was so much different. She didn't get a chance to think on this as her mind went blank as his hand slid between their bodies. Her whole body tensed, but he ignored her and ran his fingertip through the soft curls between her legs.

"You mustn't," she said weakly.

With just the tip of his index finger he lightly stroked the nubbin of womanly flesh at the juncture of her thighs. She had never been touched so intimately before, but she couldn't stop him, wouldn't ever stop him. When he continued to touch her, she grasped his shoulders, her fingers clawing into him. He chuckled softly, and when he paused in his ministrations, she cried out.

"Tell me that you want me. Tell me that you are mine," he said in a ragged voice.

Caroline was hanging on a precipice, her self-control unraveling like a plucked thread. She no longer possessed thought or reason. He had stolen both from her. "Niklaus," she whispered.

"Not enough," he answered harshly

She realized then that with Niklaus pleasure came with a price and it was one she was afraid she would pay over and over again. "I want you, Niklaus." Even though she would not look at him, she knew he smiled at her capitulation to his will.

His fingertip fluttered over her tight sex and she moved against his hand. He encouraged her, rocking her back and forth against him as he whispered her name over and over. She was incoherent, her whole body tensing and her vision black as pleasure soared through her and she flew higher and higher. When at last she could take it no longer she shattered, lost herself and fell through the stars. She couldn't move, couldn't think. She could only feel everything more intensely than ever before as ripples of satisfaction spread throughout her body. When she was still, Klaus slowly lowered her to the ground. She was afraid she would fall over, but he steadied her, spanning her waist with his hands. Looking up at him, she found his gaze resting heavily on her.

"You're mine, Caroline. Don't ever forget it," Klaus warned.

There was a flash of bright white and then Caroline was falling through darkness. With a gasp she sat upright in her bed, her gaze instantly falling to where Klaus had sat earlier. Just as before, he was not there. Whipping her head around she searched the moonlit darkness for him. He had to be here somewhere. How else to explain the dream she had just had? She couldn't have in a million years dreamed that on her own, could she? It had to come from him. That girl, the Caroline in the dream, was the one from his personal fantasy. Why would she dream of that woman? Dream that woman was her? None of it made sense unless Klaus was somehow manipulating her dreams. When she next saw him she would make it clear he was to stay the hell out of her dreams. She wasn't sure what bothered her the most. That he had sent her the dream or the fact that it had left her breathless, every nerve in her body screaming for more of his touch. Either way, she was going to close her eyes and force another sex dream. Only this time it was going to be with Tyler and it was going to be even more amazing.

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><p>Thanks to my reviewers Lovely Vero, Shanynde, ChristoferDrewFlu, Katieladie1, Lexi, LorenaLaufey, moon2012, angel1725, Vengeance-n-Luv, Diana, maevlin, IWillLoveYouAlwaysAndNever, Fallendarkangel693, Missy, klauslove, Calie1, GhostInThePhoto, Crow Skywalker, ElisebethVE, anniefred, , Ariel C. Rilmonn, RockQueen, jennat8, LovelyLynn92, slarya, Clara, VolturiVixen, meagainpauline, epic sweetness712, RandomIsMe, Mercedes Stoner, lily94, LovelyLoveJP, SueMikaelson, pseudolies, kp, Matt-On-Matt, Missy, Sci-fi Christian, SharkGurl and beverlie4055.<p>

Also thanks to LovelyLynn92 and her story, "Pandemonium" for inspiring me to use Hades and Persephone as the costumes for Caroline and Klaus.

If anyone is interested...I just finished a VERY smutty one-shot that is quickly turning into a three-shot that I will begin posting next weekend. I hope you will check it out. :)


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to my wonderful and invaluable beta ElisebethVE.

I apologize for not updating sooner, but I was sick and I also got sidetracked with my smutty three-shot, "Wake Unto Me". I hope the fact that this chapter is 35 pages long makes up for it's lateness.

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Shrouded in shadows, Klaus sat in front of the fireplace, the flickering flames the only light in the room. Usually, he enjoyed the dance of heat on his cool skin, but tonight not even the warmth from the fire could melt the ice that seemed to surround him. He had been sitting here drinking scotch for hours planning and plotting on how he could keep Caroline safe. He could bring her here, watch over her every hour of the day, but he knew she would never agree to such an idea. In truth, after the attack today, he wasn't sure that she would even be completely safe in his home. Granted, she was less likely to come to harm under his care, but even with his supernatural guards in place he couldn't be sure that another hybrid wouldn't be compelled to try and kill her again. He needed to find out who was trying to murder Caroline and fast. He couldn't lose her. Not ever again.

He still couldn't believe that someone had managed to essentially undo the Sire bond through compulsion. That this was possible, that there was someone that powerful out there made him furious. It terrified him that they were after Caroline and the only reason he could think that she would be the target was to hurt him and bring him to his knees. The very idea made his vision red and with no one nearby to take his wrath out on– no heads to rip off or intestines to tie - he stood and hurled the glass of scotch he had been holding against the paneled wood wall in front of him. With a thud, the crystal shattered, the pieces hitting the floor in a tinkling sound.

"Nik?"

Klaus swung his head around to see Rebekah standing uncertainly in the doorway. She must have been out partying as she was dressed in a slinky blue dress, her hair mussed and her eyeliner slightly smeared.

"Go to bed, Rebekah," Klaus replied, his voice like the crack of a whip.

Her eyes widened at his tone, but instead of meekly following his command, she remained stubbornly where she was. Not paying any attention to her, Klaus stalked towards the small bar in the room and picking up a decanter of scotch he sloshed some into a new crystal tumbler. Lifting the glass to his lips, he drained the glass not bothering to savor the taste of peat moss and smoke that he normally relished. Filling his glass again he noted with displeasure that she was now beside him.

"I'm not going to bed." Rebekah jutted her chin out with defiance. "Not until you tell me what is going on."

"Nothing is going on," Klaus barked

"Of course not," she answered back sarcastically. "That's why the hybrids are outside huddled in frightened groups gossiping and you're in here smashing your fancy crystal against the wall."

Klaus flashed her a black look. "This does not concern you."

"Yes, it does. I have to live with these hybrid monsters of yours and if they are worked up then I deserve to know why and they aren't talking."

"Since when do you care about anything to do with my hybrids? Or even my plans? Your only interest in anything thus far has been playing at being a teenager and a petty, childish one at that."

Pressing her lips together for a moment, Rebekah looked as if she was biting back her words and then with a long suffering sigh she spoke up, "Don't do that, Nik."

"Do what?"

Rebekah laid her hand on Klaus's shoulder. "Don't shut me out."

"I don't want you involved," he growled and shook of her touch, moving to sit back in front of the fireplace. Rebekah followed and kneeled before him a pensive look on her face.

"Please tell me what's going on. Don't keep me in the dark. If you are in danger, I need to know," she pled.

Leaning back in his leather chair, Klaus weighed his options. He was torn between telling her the truth and his instincts to keep her safe. He worried that if he revealed to Rebekah his connection to Caroline and his plan to hunt and kill whoever was threatening her life that his sister would involve herself. He couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt or even worse losing her. Then again there was that small fear deep down inside that he didn't like to admit to that maybe Rebekah wouldn't care and she would take this as an opportunity to leave him. Although, looking into her face, her eyes brimming with concern, maybe he was foolish to keep her at a distance. Would his silence drive her away?

"Please. I want to know. Let me help, be there for you."

"Bekah…" he began only to have his voice trail off into silence.

"Always and forever. Remember that, Nik? Always and forever."

Klaus's undead heart clenched at her words. She always knew better than anyone else how to reach him. Involuntarily, he reached out to cup the side of her face tenderly. Her eyes momentarily softened, only to flare with fear as she registered this unusual intimate touch. Struck by the evidence of his weakness, Klaus yanked his hand away. "It's Caroline."

"Of course, it is," Rebekah replied with a disgusted sigh.

Giving his sister a warning look, Klaus continued, "Someone tried to kill her tonight."

"What else is new?" Rebekah shrugged. "She and her gang of do-gooders must have pissed off someone else for a change."

"No, this is different. Someone dared to attack her here. At my home." Klaus tightened his grip on the tumbler in his hand until it started to show hairline cracks in the crystal. "Whomever it was managed to compel one of my hybrids to kill her."

All color drained from Rebekah's face. "How is that possible?"

"I don't know."

"You need to get rid of them. They are a liability. If they can be compelled, they can be used against you. You need to kill them all."

"No." Klaus shook his head decisively as Rebekah opened her mouth to argue. "The one that attacked Caroline had been missing for a while. It couldn't have been easy to break the Sire bond. It has to take time. It is better that I keep my hybrids close to me where I can keep an eye on them. Besides, I need them to keep watch on Caroline when I can't be there."

"I'm sure Caroline loves that," Rebekah answered tartly. "But, I'm not worried about her. I'm worried about you. What if they try and attack you?"

"I can't be killed by one of my own hybrids," Klaus scoffed.

"No, but you can be killed if one of them gets their hands on a white oak stake."

Klaus felt a stab of fear at the thought. Still, he knew instinctively that whoever was behind the attack tonight hadn't been trying to kill him. No, this was different. By coming after Caroline the perpetrator was trying to destroy him by taking away that which he treasured the most. What disturbed him was how they came by this insight. Was it a guess on their part? While he had danced with Caroline at his mother's party, they hadn't been seen together much otherwise.

"No, whoever is doing this isn't seeking my death. Or at least not directly." Klaus took a slow sip of his scotch, gathering his thoughts before speaking, "It's something more than that. To go after Caroline means they seek to destroy me in another way. I can't lose her."

Rebekah's mouth dropped open at the hint of desperation she heard in his voice. "She can't mean that much to you. You hardly know her."

Staring silently at his sister, Klaus debated how much to tell her. He knew things were antagonistic, to say the least, between her and Caroline, but he knew deep down that if there were anyone he could unburden himself to, it was Rebekah. "That's where you're wrong."

"I know it has been a long time, but a few dates and getting laid do not constitute knowing someone," Rebekah said gently.

Klaus laughed bitterly. "Don't you think I know that? As for Caroline, I know her better than anyone else. Better than her friends and family combined." Draining his scotch he rose to his feet and walked to stand in front of the portrait of Elizabeth's court. "She was mine five hundred years ago and she will be mine again."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Remember those poems I wrote years ago? The ones that Kol and you took such delight in? They were about Caroline."

"Nik —"

The way she said his name, both pitying and soothing as if she was patronizing a madman only had Klaus more determined than ever to get her to see the truth. "I first met Caroline at Elizabeth's I's court. I planned to turn her." At his sister's gasp, Klaus turned to look at her. Her face was frozen in an expression of disbelief, her head lightly swaying from side to side like she was attempting to deny his words, his insanity. "But, before I could, a witch killed her and took away all my memories of Caroline to punish me for killing her daughter. She wanted to ensure that I lived as empty as a life as possible, but she didn't count on my eventually remembering or that Caroline would come back to me."

Klaus waited for Rebekah to say something, but she stood silently, continuing to stare at him as if he had just announced he was becoming a vegetarian. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but with every day I remember more of my past with Caroline and for some crazy reason she has been reborn. So, you have to see now how much I stand to lose if anything happens to her."

"So…let me get this straight." Rebekah moved to join Klaus in front of the painting. You think Caroline is like a reincarnation of that girl you were obsessed with?"

Looking into his sister's face he could see to his dismay that she was still looking at him like he was crazy. "You can see her in this court painting from 1601." Klaus moved his finger to where Caroline sat in front of the Queen and then to where he stood. "And there I am."

"That — that is you," Rebekah agreed. Stepping closer to the painting she studied the small golden- haired figure in the foreground. "That does look like Caroline."

"No. She doesn't just look like Caroline, she is Caroline."

"How can you be so sure? Maybe your current Caroline is just a descendent of that past Caroline? Have you thought of that?"

"No." Klaus shook his head emphatically. "It's her."

Rebekah arched a brow. "She knows about this? Your theory that she is a reincarnation of your Elizabethan crush? Somehow I don't see her welcoming this revelation."

"I haven't told her yet, but the connection that exists between us, even though she tries to fight it, can't be denied. I can see it in her eyes. She is as powerless as I am to stop it," Klaus replied forcefully.

Glancing from Klaus back to the Caroline in the Elizabethan portrait, Rebekah sighed, her expression changing from one of disbelief to grudging acceptance. "Has she remembered anything? From her past, I mean?"

Klaus smiled with triumph. He knew by her question that she no longer completely dismissed his claims about Caroline. "I believe she is starting to. There are times, when she looks at me, that I swear she is on the cusp of remembering everything."

"You do you realize how crazy this all is?"

"Any more crazy then the existence of vampires, werewolves, witches and hybrids?"

"So then this witch…she killed Caroline and made you forget everything?"

"Yes," Klaus said, his voice tight and controlled.

Rebekah tilted her head up to look him in the face and when he saw the sympathy in her eyes, her sadness at this revelation he knew he had at last reached her. "I'm so sorry. All these years, I never knew."

At her words, Klaus ripped his gaze from hers. He couldn't stand that she might see how affected he still was by all of this. He didn't want her sympathy. Didn't want to dwell on the centuries he had lost with Caroline. "Neither did I until just weeks ago when it all came back to me in a dream."

"This witch? You killed her? Made her suffer?" Rebekah asked, her eyes glinting with vengeance.

"No. I have no idea what happened to her. She made me forget even her."

Rebekah frowned. "Damn witches."

"Yes," Klaus agreed as he thought of all the trouble that had come into his life through witches. Starting with the first one to curse him. His own mother.

"So do you have any idea who is behind the attack?"

"If I did, do you think I would be here drowning myself in scotch?"

Instead of replying, Rebekah went over to the bar to pour herself some for herself. As she sputtered and coughed after gulping the whole glass down, Klaus couldn't help the smile of amusement that briefly drifted across his face.

"You need help."

Klaus cast her a look of anger. He couldn't believe that after everything he had just told her that she would insult him so.

Rebekah lifted her hand to stop his train of thought. "I mean with Caroline. I assume you have hybrids watching her, but that isn't good enough. It is entirely possible that whoever is responsible for this, having learned to break the Sire bond, will try again. And maybe now they have learned to do it even faster and easier."

"So what are you suggesting?" Klaus asked, a muscle tightening in his jaw at what she had just shared.

Rebekah took a deep breath, "Let me guard Caroline."

He couldn't help but chuckle at the notion.

"No, I'm serious. I can protect her."

Klaus shook his head. "She already has me and my hybrids are there when I am not."

"You would trust those monsters over me?" Rebekah asked with a hurt look. "Look, I have a better chance at keeping her safe then they do."

Tilting his head to the side, Klaus considered her offer. She was right. She was his sister, an Original. Only a white oak stake and he had the power to take her out of commission.

"Just think I can be there when no one else can." she wheedled. "Who else are you going to find that can protect her at school?"

"And what makes you think she would even agree to this proposition?"

"Like we would give her a choice?" Rebekah's eyes gleamed. "I am stronger and faster than her and if she knows what is best for her she won't fight me."

Klaus held up a finger in warning. "I won't have her harmed."

"Do you really think I could do that to the girl you have waited lifetimes for?" She asked with a pout.

"You would do that for me? Set aside your prejudices against her in order to protect her."

"I know I can set aside my differences, at least, until the danger has passed. After that I make no promises," Rebekah retorted.

Carefully thinking over her proposition, Klaus regarded his sister. He was touched that she would offer to do this for him. It was a surprising gesture on her part. A kindness he had no right to expect and had learned not to when it came to his family. He had to admit, however, that there was no one he would rather have on his side. With Rebekah watching over Caroline he would rest easier when he was apart from her. It was times like tonight, when he couldn't be near her, he knew would drive him mad with worry. Under his scrutiny, Rebekah shifted from one foot to another as she anxiously waited for his answer.

"She won't invite you into the house," he said at last. "You will probably have to go through her mother, Liz, to gain entrance."

Rebekah flashed him a pleased smile. "Leave that to me."

"Don't let on to Liz about the danger Caroline is in. I will take care of that conversation."

"I can just imagine how Caroline will react to that. I don't suppose she has any idea what she is getting involved with in being your girlfriend," she said with a heavy emphasis on the word girlfriend and a mischievous glance at him.

Klaus glowered at her. "I will take over your duties as soon as school is out. Make sure Caroline comes straight home. I will be waiting for her there."

Giving her brother a mock salute, Rebekah turned to leave. "Well, I better get started and head over there."

He waited until she was almost at the doorway, before he spoke. "Thank you."

She stopped and turned, giving him a blinding smile that cut right through his insecurities. "You only ever have to ask."

Feeling as if a great weight had been lifted, Klaus collapsed back in his chair and leaned his head back. With Caroline's safety assured under his sister's care, he could rest at last.

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><p>.<p>

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As the early morning sunlight filtered through the light cotton curtains on her bedroom windows, Caroline snuggled deeper into her pillow. Having spent most of the night tormented by restless dreams, she wasn't ready to get up. Facing the day would mean dealing with Klaus and the reality of her situation so she pulled the covers tighter around her, determined to stay in bed as long as she could.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," greeted a singsong voice next to her.

Caroline bolted into an upright position, immediately awake. Seated in a chair next to her bed, her legs crossed and her hands holding the most recent issue of _Vogue_ was Rebekah.

"What are you doing here?" Caroline sputtered.

"What do you think?" Rebekah asked with boredom as she flipped a page in her magazine.

Caroline ground her teeth together before speaking, "You have exactly two seconds to tell me what you are doing in my bedroom before I —"

At the threat, Rebekah looked up from her magazine with interest. "Before you do what? Make me break a nail? Because - trust me - that is the worst that would happen to me if you attempted to take me on."

Glancing at Rebekah's perfectly manicured French tips, Caroline was sorely tempted to see exactly how many of them she could break. However, she knew that such a move would only prolong their interaction so she bit back her anger. "I am assuming you being here has something to do with Klaus?"

Rebekah's eyes softened briefly at the mention of her brother's name. "You guessed correctly."

"Well, I don't want, nor do I need you here, so you can just be on your way."

"That's not going to happen."

Caroline bristled at the steely tone in Rebekah's voice. "You can't want to be here anymore than I want you here."

"That's where you're wrong. There isn't anyplace I would rather be.

"Well, what if I don't want you here?" To Caroline's disgust, Rebekah didn't look the least put out by her rudeness. Instead her least favorite person in the world flashed her a triumphant smile.

"I don't think you have much of a choice. And don't even think about having my invitation revoked."

Panic rippled through Caroline as the obvious finally occurred to her. Her mother must have invited Rebekah in, but at what price to herself? "My mom, is she okay? Did you do anything to her?"

Uncrossing her legs and settling more comfortably in Caroline's chair, Rebekah took what seemed like forever before answering, "Don't worry. You're mother is fine. She invited me in."

"No, she would never do that. Not unless you told her about the attack?" Caroline asked, her voice cracking.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Of course, I didn't tell her."

"Then how?"

"I may have mentioned to her how we were co-chairs of the prom committee and that I was meeting you here so I could drive you to school. Your mother seemed quite —"

"Wait," Caroline interjected rudely. "We are not co-chairs of anything. I am the chair of the prom committee. You are merely a committee member. My insubordinate."

"Really? It wouldn't seem that way considering the way you have either missed or sleep-walked through the recent meetings. In fact, your behavior of late has led to many of the committee members wondering if your heart might be engaged elsewhere other then with your prom duties?"

"Maybe if your psycho brother wasn't so determined to stalk me and drain my best friend I could focus more of my attention on prom," Caroline retorted wanting to slap Rebekah's smirk right off her face. So she had missed a few meetings and perhaps not been the most attentive at some others. She had singlehandedly put together prom with hardly any help last year and she would again. "Besides there is plenty of time left and most of the work is already done."

Rebekah arched one elegant brow. "One week is plenty of time? And in case you weren't keeping track the work is mostly done because," holding up three fingers, she ticked them off one by one, "I am the one who made the final decision on the centerpieces and it was I who went to the last tasting at the caterer's and again it was me who ultimately decided on whether to go with the silver or gold embossed programs and decorations. So you can see how it might be confusing to everyone exactly who is head of the prom committee, but considering how generous I am, I happen to be willing to co-chair it with you."

Caroline rubbed her eyes wearily. How was it possible that so much time had passed without her knowing? Had she really been that oblivious to what was happening within her own prom committee that she had allowed Rebekah to swoop in and take over? Damn, Klaus. It was all his fault. His obsession with her, their date, his stupid dimples and entirely distracting lips were destroying her life. Well, that was all stopping now. She was going to rid herself of him in her life this instant, starting with his infuriating sister.

"Making a few decisions on roses versus carnations in the centerpieces, or, I am hoping, choosing silver over gold for decorations does not make you a co-chair. So, while I appreciate all you have done, I can handle it from here," Caroline said offering Rebekah her bitchiest smile. "As for your brother, you can go back and tell him facing my attacker is preferable to being babysat by you."

Tossing her head, Rebekah stood up. "I am not going to tell Nik anything because you are going to be a very good little baby vampire and get dressed for school."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because for some reason my brother has decided he cares about you," Rebekah replied with an exasperated sigh. "Now get dressed before we miss first period."

Tingling warmth swept through her at the thought only to be followed by an even greater sense of unease. Did Klaus truly care about her? Was it possible she was more to him than just another obsession? Rebekah must think so or she wouldn't be here.

"Are you going to get up or not?" Rebekah asked.

"Can I at least have some privacy?"

"Nope."

With a sound of annoyance, Caroline whipped back her covers and stalked over to her dresser. She dug through the drawers until she found some clothes to wear to school and then gave Rebekah her most disdainful look she headed to the bathroom to shower. Rushing through her normal morning rituals, she put on a light blue skirt and white silk camisole and stopped to swipe some lip-gloss on her mouth before opening the door back into her bedroom. To her extreme annoyance, she found Rebekah rifling through the clothes in her closet.

"Those are my clothes. Do you mind?" Caroline huffed.

"Not really," Rebekah replied with a shrug. Pulling out the blue dress Caroline had worn to the Mikaelsons' ball just a few weeks earlier, Rebekah peered at the crystal beading on the bodice. "This is the only decent thing you own. It amazes me that someone who has decent enough taste to pick this out would have such mediocre taste otherwise with clothes."

"That dress was a gift and my taste isn't mediocre." Tearing the ball gown from Rebekah's hands, Caroline carefully looked it over to make sure it was still as perfect looking as the night she had worn it before she hung it back up in the closet. "And I hardly think you are one to judge. Especially since your tastes range from slutty to sluttier."

The lack of a nasty comeback and the hurt look that briefly wavered over Klaus's sister's face had Caroline instantly regretting her words. She was being petty and childish and Rebekah didn't deserve that. Especially since Klaus was forcing her into guard duty. "Look, Rebekah I didn't —"

"Yeah, whatever. Like you're one to judge," Rebekah retorted scornfully.

"You know you don't have to do this," Caroline said as she grabbed her schoolbag from where it sat on her dresser.

"Do what?"

"Follow Klaus's orders and guard me. I am only going to school and back today. I will be perfectly safe."

"You don't know that," Rebekah pointed out. "Besides, I am not here on my brother's orders."

Caroline frowned. That didn't make any sense. Rebekah didn't care for her anymore then she cared about her rival. "Then why are you here?"

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself," she replied with a disdainful look at Caroline. "But just so we're clear, I am not going anywhere. You're stuck with me until I deliver you safely back here to Nik after school. Until then you are just going to be stuck with me."

Looking into Rebekah's determined face, Caroline realized that the girl really meant it. For better or worse she was stuck with the Original as her own personal guard dog. "Wait…Klaus is going to be here after school?"

A slow smirk spread over Rebekah's face. "Where else do you think my brother would be? Nik is very protective of those he considers his and you are definitely his now."

"I am not his," she shot back in anger. What had Klaus told his sister about her, about them, which would lead her to believe she was now his? Still, what bothered her more was that if Rebekah believed that Klaus felt that strongly about her it made it all seem more real.

"Give it time," Rebekah said, a crafty gleam in her eyes. "My brother always gets what he wants and right now he wants you."

"He can try all he wants, but he can't have me. I am my own person. Not a toy he can have and discard when the novelty has worn off."

Rebekah stepped towards Caroline and peered into her eyes, a look of surprise on her face. "You really don't get it do you? You're not a passing fancy. Can't you feel it when you're together? Nik, having found you, will never let you go."

Caroline's stomach twisted with some unknown anxiety. "Having found me? What do you mean by that?"

Flipping her hair back from her face, Rebekah turned to look at her reflection in the mirror above Caroline's dresser. "Nothing….nothing at all."

"But you said it. You must have had a reason?" Caroline pressed. For some reason Rebekah's evasion agitated her. She felt as if she was missing something, something that should have been obvious, was obvious, to Rebekah and Klaus.

"I just meant that Nik has been searching for someone he felt a connection with for a long time." Twirling around, Rebekah faced Caroline, a petulant look on her face. "Unfortunately, it had to be you."

Caroline's body was racked with shivers. There it was. Confirmation from an outside source that verified Klaus' feelings for her. Someone who knew the Original hybrid better than anyone else. Even knowing this now her mind was still unable to accept that what Klaus could possibly feel for her was real. That he wasn't blinded by the challenge, the pursuit of attaining the impossible - her heart. "There has never been anyone else he has felt a connection like this to?"

"Oh, my God," Rebekah exclaimed, her eyes alight with delight. "Are you really asking me about my brother's previous conquests?"

"Ew!" Caroline's face puckered like she had tasted something sour. "No, of course not!"

"Then what kind of question is that?"

"Just forget I ever asked."

Rebekah shook her head merrily. "But you did. No, I can't forget this. You're jealous."

"No, I'm not," Caroline rushed to assure Rebekah, even as heat flooded her cheeks. "We need to get to school. We're going to miss first period."

"School can wait," Rebekah replied with a laugh. "This is way too much fun."

Fumbling through her schoolbag to find her keys, Caroling pulled them out and purposefully stalked out of her bedroom and into the living room.

In a blur of movement, Rebekah was at her side, her hand on Caroline's arm stopping her from going any farther. "Don't even think of going anywhere without me."

Caroline shook off Rebekah's hold. "I'm not."

"Girls?" Liz poked her head from out from the kitchen. "Aren't you going to be late for school?"

"We were just leaving." Caroline replied, offering up one of her brightest smiles to her mother. She didn't want Liz to think there was anything odd about having Rebekah in their house because, if she did, she would be begin to ask questions. Questions Caroline wasn't ready to answer.

"Sorry, Ms. Forbes. Care and I were just having some girl talk and lost track of time," Rebekah replied sweetly.

At the use of her nickname, Caroline whipped her head around to glare at Rebekah.

"Well, that's fine," Liz answered her gaze puzzled as it moved from Rebekah to Caroline again and back again as if she was attempting to figure out this strange turn of events. "Again, Rebekah, I really appreciate you coming over to drive Caroline to school. I had no idea her car wasn't working. Really Caroline, you need to be more responsible and tell me these things. There is such a thing as a cell phone."

If Rebekah wasn't dead already, Caroline would have torn her neck from body. "Sorry, Mom. I guess I just got distracted and didn't think."

Liz folded her arms over her chest. "Well, think next time."

"I'll do that. I promise."

"I'll have the mechanic come take a look at your car today. Now, don't just stand here. Get moving before you are really late. "

"Yes, Mom." Yanking her schoolbag off the hooks by the door, Caroline opened the door to find a bright candy apple red Porsche in her driveway behind her car. The flashy vehicle could only belong to Rebekah. From behind her, Caroline heard Rebekah pull out her keys and click the unlock button on her key fob. Biting her tongue she waited until they were outside and out of earshot before whirling around and confronting her nemesis. "What were you thinking? What is my mom going to think when she finds out there is nothing wrong with my car?"

"Don't worry. I took care of it," Rebekah said nonchalantly.

"What did you do to my car?" Caroline accused the girl, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Nothing that can't be easily fixed."

Caroline wanted more then anything to punch a hole in the side of the shiny Porsche in front of her.

"Don't worry. Nik taught me more then a few tricks about motors when we were on the run and I promise there is no permanent damage," Rebekah said as she moved over to the driver's side door.

"There better not be," Caroline warned as she opened the car door and slipped inside.

Rebekah followed and positioned herself in the driver's seat. Fitting her keys into the ignition she paused. "Look, Caroline…you need to know that you are it for Nik." Turning her head, she met Caroline's gaze, her eyes dark and fierce. "So don't screw this up, because if you hurt him, I won't hesitate to destroy you and everything you hold dear. Understand?"

Nodding weakly, Caroline leaned back in her seat as Rebekah started the engine. She didn't doubt Rebekah's threat. She would do it. Kill Matt, her mother, Bonnie and the only one who would escape her carnage would be Elena, Klaus's doppelganger. Even as she was consumed with fear for those she loved, she couldn't help the turmoil of emotion she felt at Rebekah's words about Klaus. _There has never been anyone else, ever, that he has felt this way about. _ Her elation at the revelation was overshadowed by guilt. It haunted her, because with every passing day his hold on her grew stronger and she knew he was right. He was no longer in her head, but her heart as well.

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* * *

><p>.<p>

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Caroline rushed through the lunch line at school, grabbing a salad and bottled water which she quickly paid for. Heading outside, she searched for a good place to eat where she would be hidden from Rebekah. The girl had made good on her threat to not let Caroline out of her sight. She had even followed her into the bathroom when Caroline went in to use the mirror to reapply her lip-gloss. Since most of their classes were together she had been given no choice but to deal with the Original's presence and her constant chatter. While she realized Rebekah was just trying to make it seem as if they really were friends to arouse less suspicion when she changed seats to sit next to Caroline, it still rankled. Thankfully, the last class before lunch was the one they didn't have together so Caroline had taken the opportunity to beat Rebekah to the cafeteria so she could find a private place to eat before the girl found her.

Finding the perfect spot behind a tree that would block her from the direct view of the cafeteria door she settled down to have a few moments of peace. Even though she wasn't in the least bit hungry, she ripped the plastic wrap off the top of her salad. She knew it was weird, but going through the normal human rituals of eating a meal was still very important to her. Unwrapping her fork from its packaging she poked at the slightly wilted lettuce, carrot shavings and chopped tomatoes in her salad bowl. It wasn't the most appetizing lunch and she wasn't quite sure why she picked it, as she didn't really need to worry about getting her daily vegetable requirements anymore, but it was something the old Caroline would have picked so it was a soothing choice. As the sunlight that she had been enjoying disappeared beneath a tall shadow, Caroline looked up in annoyance to find Rebekah standing over her, a predatory grin on her face.

"You wouldn't happen to be trying to escape me, would you?" Rebekah asked sweetly. "Because I thought I made it pretty clear this morning that you and I were going to be inseparable."

"Seriously? Even at lunch?" Caroline rolled her eyes. "Don't you think that is taking this fake friendship you have been playing at too far?"

Rebekah plopped down on the ground next to Caroline. "What fake friendship? Here I thought I meant something to you."

"Don't you have your minions to eat with?" Caroline asked snidely. "Those girls that for some reason seem to hang on your every word? Or have they at last seen through you and your little power games?"

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Rebekah turned to gaze at Caroline a dangerous smirk on her face. "You mean the same girls that used to worship you before I came along and showed them that you weren't the only one who could run things around here?"

It was Caroline that looked away first. "I'm not like that anymore." She didn't like to think about the time before she was a vampire, when she had been shallow and taken pleasure in using her popularity to order the other girls around. She wanted to believe she had gotten over all of that. That as a vampire she had learned to be an even better human than she was when she was alive.

"Right," Rebekah answered with a short laugh. "That's why you're trying to control all aspects of prom even though everyone is perfectly willing to help out."

"It isn't like that."

"Then what is it like?" Rebekah demanded.

Caroline lowered her head and sighed, "You wouldn't understand." How could she explain to Rebekah that holding on to these last few school events so tightly was her way of keeping close to the old Caroline, her human side?

"Try me."

The gentleness in Rebekah's tone had Caroline looking up at her in surprise. It seemed like she was genuinely interested in what Caroline might have to say.

"Look, you have been a vampire for like centuries, but for me this is all new. I was made against my will, without a choice, and while I understand that this is my life now, I'm not quite ready to give up my old life." Caroline couldn't believe what she had just confided to her nemesis, but instead of the look of ridicule she expected, Rebekah looked almost understanding.

"You know," Rebekah paused to awkwardly tuck some of her hair behind her ear, "wanting to hang on to your old life…at least for a bit, is something I can understand. Regardless of what you think you know about me, I was human once too."

Caroline aggressively twisted the cap of her bottle of water. "Somehow I have a very hard time believing that. You have no respect for human life. You revel in what you are."

"Have you or any of your precious gang of do-gooders ever considered that maybe this wasn't my choice either?" Rebekah asked harshly. "That maybe I was made against my will? That maybe I still want the human life I never got."

"Rebekah…" Caroline's voice trailed off as she caught sight of the anguish in the girl's eyes. "Look, I didn't know."

"Yeah, well not everything is as black and white as everyone likes to think."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't justify your acting as if humans were your own personal blood bags you can drain and toss aside."

"Speaking of blood bags, here comes Nik's," Rebekah announced with displeasure.

Looking up, Caroline saw Elena bearing down on them a determined look on her face. "Don't call her that."

"Why?" Rebekah shrugged nonchalantly. "That's what she is."

Making a small sound of disgust at Rebekah's comment, Caroline was glad that Elena didn't seem to have overheard what the other girl said.

"Caroline?" Elena greeted, stopping right in front of the tree where Caroline and Rebekah were seated.

"Hey, Elena," Caroline said, offering her brightest and most innocent smile.

Furrowing her brow, Elena glanced from Rebekah to Caroline. "Everything, all right?"

"Everything's just peachy, right, Care?" Rebekah answered, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"I didn't ask you," Elena threw back at Rebekah rudely.

"Everything's fine. I was just having some lunch." Caroline held up her salad for Elena to see.

"With Rebekah?" Elena's voice raised almost an octave as she continued, "You're having lunch with Rebekah?"

"Way to state the obvious," the Original said in a bored voice.

"Um, yeah. I guess you could say I am having lunch with Rebekah," Caroline replied lamely.

Elena placed her hands on her hips. "Caroline, what on earth is going on?"

"Nothing." Avoiding Elena's gaze, Caroline ripped open a packet of Ranch salad dressing to put on her salad.

"This is so wrong. There is no way you would ever eat lunch with Rebekah." Kneeling down in front of Caroline, Elena peered directly into her eyes. "Are you being compelled? Is she forcing you to do this?"

"Like she could tell you if she was being compelled," Rebekah replied, her tone making it clear how idiotic she thought Elena was. "Why can't you just accept that Care and I are BFFs now? Isn't that right, Care?"

Elena swung her head around to glare at Rebekah. "Stop calling her that. And she isn't your BFF! You need to tell me what is going on right now, Caroline."

Caroline avoided looking at Elena as she drizzled Ranch dressing on her salad. "Rebekah and I were just…"

"Just what?" Elena asked suspiciously.

Glancing over at Rebekah, Caroline tried to think of a believable lie as to why she might be spending time with the very Original they had been trying to rid themselves of ever since she came to town. "We were just discussing what we were planning for Prom."

"Didn't Care tell you?" Rebecca paused dramatically, "She made me co-chair of the Prom committee."

Her mouth falling open with shock, Elena whipped her head from Rebekah to Caroline for confirmation. "You did what?"

Burning anger rose into Caroline's chest and as she flashed Rebekah her most threatening stare she imagined yanking out the girls blonde hair in fistfuls. Instead of being the least bit cowed, Rebekah stared right back at her, smiling gleefully. "I really had no choice," she bit out. "Especially, after all the work Rebekah has put into the planning."

"That's…that's really nice of you," Elena replied.

The wonder and surprise she heard in her best friend's voice had Caroline bristling with indignation. "What? I can be nice."

"Of course, you can," Elena said soothingly. "I just never thought you would willingly share control of Prom. This is good, Caroline. You know no one expects you to do it all. You have so much on your plate…especially with Tyler and—"

"Tyler and my break-up," Caroline finished with a warning look at Elena.

At the mention of Tyler's name, Rebekah's eyes sparkled with interest. "How is Tyler? I haven't seen him at school lately?"

"He's been sick with the flu," Caroline replied evasively, hoping the heat that was pouring into her cheeks at the mention of her boyfriend wasn't noticed by Rebekah.

"Really sick," Elena repeated with earnest.

"I see," Rebekah said, her lips compressing into a tight line before she spoke again, "Funny, I didn't think that was possible. Considering the superior immune system he has now thanks to my brother."

Caroline wanted to bang her head repeatedly against the large oak tree she was sitting under. How could she be so stupid? Flustered, she racked her brain for a plausible excuse. "That is the reason he is giving the school. In reality, it is just taking him some time to get used to all the changes his body has been through."

Rebekah studied Caroline suspiciously for a moment before speaking, "I suppose that is possible. He isn't an Original so the change could be very different for him. I haven't known my brother's other hybrids to struggle much, but then I haven't really paid attention."

"That has to be it," Caroline rushed to agree.

Elena nodded her head. "So Rebekah what are you wearing to Prom?"

Caroline wanted to kiss her best friend for so easily changing the subject.

"I ordered the perfect dress from a Parisian designer," Rebekah said with a shy, pleased smile. "It is a light, shimmery blue and it fits so tightly I know Nik will hate it."

Although, Elena paled a bit at hearing Klaus's name so casually used she still managed a brave smile. "Sounds lovely."

"Where's your lunch?" Caroline asked as she noticed at last Elena's lack of food from the cafeteria. She really hoped all the stress in her friend's life wasn't keeping her from eating. Elena had done that when her parents died and gotten so thin that Caroline had been really worried and she wasn't about to let that happen again.

"Oh, Stefan is getting me something," Elena said, a slight hint of pink highlighting her cheekbones at the mention his name.

"He always was a gentleman that way," Rebekah replied tartly.

Elena climbed to her feet. "I should really get going. He should be done soon."

Caroline couldn't help but notice what Elena had not said. She didn't want to be seen having a conversation with Rebekah because it would only lead to questions and concern from Stefan and most likely a lecture from Damon.

"I'll see you after school?" Elena asked. "Maybe have some girl time?"

Rebekah shook her head warningly at Caroline.

"Um. Not today. I have a ton of homework and my mom wants me to stick close to home," Caroline lied as she ducked her head down to stare at her salad.

Elena sighed and turned to head back towards the cafeteria. "Okay."

"Maybe tomorrow?" Caroline couldn't help but add as she heard the disappointed note in Elena's voice.

"That would be great. Well, we'll talk tomorrow." Elena said cheerfully, before turning her back and rushing towards the school.

Caroline speared some lettuce unto her fork and couldn't help but notice that Rebekah wasn't eating. In fact she didn't even have a lunch. "Aren't you going to get something to eat? Or at least pretend to have lunch?"

"Oh, I already ate," Rebekah said as she flashed her bright white teeth. "O positive right from the tap."

"Here at school?" Caroline asked in horror. "You are going to get us all caught. You and Klaus can't keep littering this town with dead bodies."

"Don't worry," Rebekah replied with a shrug. "I didn't drain him. He didn't taste that great. Way too much sugar. Must have been diabetic."

Caroline tossed her fork into her salad. She suddenly had no desire to eat. "You're disgusting."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes. "Stop being such a hypocrite. Like you don't crave it right from the source. Rich with oxygen with just a hint of adrenaline, the vibrations of their heartbeat in your ears and mouth, the warmth of their life essence warming your insides. You can't get that with a blood bag."

Caroline swallowed, her mouth suddenly very dry. She tried not to think of the man she had killed, the way he had tasted, the exhilarating way his blood had giving her life, filling the emptiness inside. No, she wouldn't think of that. Not now. Not ever. That wasn't her, who she wanted to be. With shaking hands she gathered up her salad and water bottle. "Maybe not, but at least I don't have the deaths of innocents on my hands."

Flipping her hair to the side, Rebekah shrewdly regarded Caroline. "You know you don't have to kill when you feed."

"I know that," Caroline replied, her voice shrill.

"I don't think you do. There are other options to feeding on humans other then gorging like Damon or starving like Stefan."

"We are not discussing this." Caroline scrambled to her feet, bending down to grab her salad and bottled water. "And now, for your information, I am going to throw my lunch in the trash and then I am headed to history class with Elena and Stefan so I won't need you for the next hour."

Even though she felt Rebekah's gaze boring into her as she stalked back to the cafeteria, she didn't turn around. She just needed to get through this day and hope that by the time school was over Klaus had done what he did best and eradicated whatever threat he thought there was so she could go on with her life without any more interference from the deadly brother and sister duo. Thankfully, she really only had one date left with Klaus as she was counting last night as a date since not only did they spend the evening together, he had also spent part of the night in her bed. Even though it had been entirely innocent that had to count as a date. She would make sure it did. It was getting entirely too dangerous to spend time with the Original and she knew if she wasn't careful he would figure out just how susceptible she was to him. Deep in her heart she knew that that he would use that knowledge as permission to never stop. Never let her go.

.

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* * *

><p>.<p>

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Slamming the door of Rebekah's Porsche shut, Caroline was annoyed to find Klaus already at her house. He leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe as if he owned the place. He was dressed in his usual low-slung jeans and a gray shirt that clung to his muscular chest, the top three buttons undone. As she strode towards him she noticed that while he seemed at ease, there was an air of danger about him. Since he wore mirrored sunglasses she couldn't see his eyes to guess his mood, but he reminded her very much of a wild animal, powerful muscles tightly coiled to strike at the slightest threat. As she stopped in front of him, his jaw relaxed, his lips curling into a smirk.

"Have a good day at school, love?" he greeted.

"With your sister acting like my guard dog? I don't think so," she scoffed.

Rebekah joined Caroline. "Hey, I resent that. I'm not anybody's guard dog."

Caroline turned her head to glare at Rebekah. "Then what would you call it when you followed me everywhere? Even into the bathroom?"

"I would call that protecting your ass," Rebekah retorted. "If anything you should be thanking me for keeping you safe. You're just lucky that —"

Klaus held up his hand to silence his sister. "Thanks, Rebekah for taking such good care of Caroline. I promise I won't forget this."

Caroline frowned at the tender, grateful tone in his voice. If she didn't know better she would think that Rebekah had spent the day guarding her as a favor to Klaus and not because he had commanded it.

"Thanks," Rebekah replied, her face lighting up at her brother's praise.

"Well, since I have been delivered home safely, there is no reason for either of you to continue to be here," Caroline said rudely, taking a step around Klaus and towards her front door.

Klaus moved to stand in front of her, effectively stopping her in her tracks. "Rebekah, I will talk to you later," he said with a dismissive nod in his sister's direction.

"Sure. I'll be back in the morning," Rebekah said as she climbed into her car.

"Feel free to join your sister." Caroline moved to step around Klaus again as she heard Rebekah begin to pull out of the driveway.

Klaus whipped of his sunglasses with a sigh. "Are we really going to keep playing this game? Until I have dealt with whoever is behind this you are not leaving Rebekah's or my side."

"What if I don't want your protection anymore?"

"Do you really think you have a choice?"

At Klaus's harsh tone, Caroline looked up to find his gaze on her. His cold blue eyes making it clear he wasn't going anywhere. "That's the thing. I should have a choice. This is my life and ever since you started interfering in it you have turned everything upside down. Everywhere I turn, every time I close my eyes you are there. I can't get rid of you and now because of you someone is most likely trying to kill me," she said her voice increasingly frantic as she fought the hot tears stinging her eyelids. "I want my old life back. The one where you were the villain and everything made sense."

The ice in Klaus's eyes melted, his gaze softening as he took in her unshed tears. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you are never going to get your old life back." Cupping her face gently, he stroked her cheek with the rough pad of his thumb.

Caroline flinched at the branding heat from the simple touch that warmed her from the inside out. She wanted to pull away, but there was something so calming about his caress. "If you would just leave? Go away?"

"I can't do that." Klaus shook his head, a pained look on his face as if it bothered him that he couldn't give her what she wanted. "Even if I did, things will never be the same for you. There is a reason you can no longer see me as the villain. Against your wishes, you feel something for me. You recognize there is something between us."

"No!" Caroline cried, moving away from his touch, fighting back the pain she felt at the loss of his warmth. "You will find and kill this enemy of yours who wants me dead and then when this is all over things will go back to normal. You will go back to being the bad, evil vampire who wants to take Elena and I will go back to plotting to kill you."

Pushing past Klaus, her heart in her throat, Caroline stormed into her house. She wasn't going to cry. Especially not in front of Klaus. She didn't want him to see her as the weak vampire she truly was. For what could it be but weakness that allowed her to compartmentalize the evil Klaus had done every time she was near him? Throwing her school bag on the floor of the small living room, she strode into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she searched for the blood bags hidden in the bottom drawer. Her mother, even though she really did try, still struggled with the reality that her daughter was a vampire so Caroline did her the courtesy of keeping her food out of sight.

Caroline sensed him, before she felt him. A vibration in the air, tiny ripples of longing that she instantly responded to. He closed the space between them, moving to stand behind her. Sweeping her long hair off the side of her neck, he leaned in until she could feel his lips a breath away from her ear.

"There is no going back anymore now, love."

Pressing her forehead against the top of the refrigerator opening she let the cool air wash over her. She didn't want to believe he was right, but she was afraid he was. Still she knew she had to fight it with every fiber in her being. It was important to her that she could show to herself, to everyone, that she had fought him and his hold on her to the very end.

"Are you hungry?" he murmured, his voice surprisingly soft and gentle.

Looking at the plastic bag full of blood, devoid of warmth and life lying in the bottom of the refrigerator drawer she realized she had lost her appetite. What was wrong with her? She had never before found blood bags unappetizing. In fact, she had guzzled them with delight. Anything to dull her hunger pangs. Today, everything was different. That which would normally satisfy her, disgusted her instead. Closing her eyes, her mind drifted to the last time she had fed. The way Klaus had cushioned her safely in his arms, his thick, rich blood flowing into her mouth. Slowly, hardly even aware of it, her head fell back against his muscular chest, her body settling into his. His natural, earthy scent of woods and magic surrounded her, his arms wrapping around her waist, cradling her in a comforting embrace. She didn't even protest when she felt his lips descend to press a kiss to the curve of her neck.

"You don't have to eat that crap. There are many willing donors back at my place who would be honored to feed you."

Caroline stiffened as if ice water had been injected in her veins. Attempting to pull herself away from Klaus, she found his arms tightening around her until they felt like bands of steel."

"Or if you are so against that idea, you could feed from me again."

"I bet you would love that, but I am not about to get myself addicted to your blood. I am not going to be an Original junkie," she retorted with scorn.

"It doesn't work that way," Klaus soothed.

"How do you know? Do you have any idea how —," she stopped midsentence embarrassed that she was about to share with Klaus how incredibly delicious he was. Even now at the mere mention of taking his blood she felt a stirring in her insides, a craving similar to that which she had felt towards dark chocolate when she had been alive only a hundred times more intense. No, she wasn't about to feed on him. She knew that to take that direction could only lead to an intimacy that was far too dangerous to her sanity. The memories of the last time she had fed on him, the images of the two of them together dancing and kissing that had been evoked from his blood still haunted her.

"How, what?" Klaus repeated with amusement.

"Nothing." Once more she struggled to remove herself from his embrace. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he countered, but slowly his grip relaxed until his arms left her waist.

With an annoyed huff, Caroline yanked herself away from him, ignoring her own destructive desire to curl up once more against him. In anger, she slammed the refrigerator door shut and stormed out of the kitchen. Grabbing her school bag off the floor of the living room, she flung herself down on the worn, striped couch against the wall. Crossing her legs underneath her she settled comfortably on the furthest cushion from where Klaus stood staring at her from the doorway of the kitchen.

Ignoring him completely, she pulled two textbooks and notebooks out of her schoolbag along with a sharpened pencil and placed them in a pile next to her on the couch. Selecting her math book and corresponding notebook she opened both of them to where she had left off in class. Focusing on a complicated problem she proceeded to continue the equation. She worked in silence, pretending that Klaus wasn't in fact in her home, only feet away. Having him here, invading her living space was just another reminder of just how easily he had infiltrated her entire world. Nothing was sacred from him anymore, not even her home. Not that this was even her home after everything that had happened here. It had long ceased to be her safety net months ago, but still she felt Klaus's intrusion keenly.

She didn't even look up when Klaus moved to join her on the couch. As he moved her other textbook and notebook to the floor so he could sit close to her, she focused even more intently on the math problem in front of her, pressing her pencil point so hard against the notepaper a dent began to form under the lead tip. His jean-clad thigh pressed against her bare knee where her skirt had rode up her leg and she ignored her natural instinct to pull her skirt down and have the silky fabric serve as a barrier between the touch. She frowned with anger as he leaned against the back of the couch, stretching his legs out as if he felt perfectly at home.

"It didn't occur to me that you might have homework. You do realize how ridiculous it is that you are still playing at high school?"

Caroline pretended not to hear Klaus and his condescending tone as she wrote down a string of numbers in her notebook.

"Rebekah always ignores hers," he offered in another attempt at conversation. When she didn't respond he turned to peer at her textbook. "You're doing calculus?"

The surprise in Klaus's voice had Caroline bristling. "What?" She snapped, forgetting her determination to ignore him at all costs. "Because I am blonde I must be stupid at math? I will have you know that I consistently ace all my tests and even Elena relies on me to help her with her work."

Klaus threw his head back and laughed. "You constantly surprise me, love. And I never thought you were stupid. Your intelligence is one of the very many qualities I adore about you."

"If you adore it so much then you should be thrilled that I am furthering my education by playing at school," Caroline retorted, throwing his earlier words back at him.

Instead of getting annoyed or looking the least bit upset at her attempt to provoke him, Klaus regarded her with amusement. "Point taken. By the way, your differential equation is off."

The sly smirk on his face made Caroline want to hit him on the head with her calculus textbook. For a brief second she entertained the idea before she realized that attacking the Original was probably not the best idea no matter how he infuriated her. Gritting her teeth she looked closely down at the math problem she had been working on. Damn it! He was right. She had transposed a number. It had to be because his very presence next to her was distracting. She didn't normally make mistakes like that. Erasing the last few lines of math on her notebook page, she fixed her error. "So like in-between all the bloodshed and daggering of your family you just happened to decide to learn calculus?"

"You will find as a vampire that time can weigh heavy on your hands." The smirk disappeared from Klaus's face. "Especially when your company is a disappointment to you."

"I would have thought you were to busy finding your doppelganger and breaking the curse to even have bothered."

Caroline felt Klaus tense next to her and she knew that she had once more hit a nerve with him. She didn't know why, but for some reason she lacked all common sense, any type of self-preservation when she was with him. She should know better then to provoke him, yet she couldn't help herself. She bit her lip as she waited for him to lash out at her.

"There is a lot you don't know about me," he growled.

Turning her head to look at him, she noticed that while he was irritated with her, there was nothing in his gaze to suggest that she had any reason to be frightened. It was becoming more apparent to her all the time that the truth he had forced from her the night of their chess game was accurate. She ultimately didn't fear him, had no reason to. No matter what she said or did he wouldn't go so far as to ever physically hurt her. Mentally, maybe, was another story. She had no illusions he would use every trick, play every game he could to get her to see things his way. "You're right," she admitted at last. "There is a lot I don't know about you."

His clear, blue eyes softened at her words. "I learned calculus in the late sixteen hundreds from Newton himself."

"Newton? As in Sir Isaac Newton?" Caroline shook her head at this incredible revelation. "Please tell me you didn't feed on him?"

"I don't taste everybody I meet," Klaus replied with sarcasm. "His university had just closed due to the plague and he needed a patron. He was more then happy to share his new mathematical formulas and theories."

"I can't believe you knew Sir Isaac Newton," Caroline said unable to keep the awe from her voice.

Klaus smiled down at her. "You would be surprised at who I have known over the centuries."

Caroline had no doubt of that. Still, what she couldn't forget was all the plain, ordinary humans he must have also encountered and killed throughout those centuries. She wouldn't be so foolish and innocent as to be blind to the violence and death Klaus had been a party to during those years. Tearing her gaze from his, she looked back down at her calculus textbook. Realizing that she had no more problems assigned she shut the book.

"So you can see what an incredible asset I can be to your education," Klaus said confidently. "There is so much I can teach you, sweetheart."

"No doubt, with your own spin on it." Caroline set her math notebook and calculus textbook on the floor.

"The correct spin. Your education is based on the teachings of an elite few, the victors in history. There is so much more out there to learn."

Once more he was trying to tempt her. Only this time instead of buying her things, or offering her trips he was appealing to her desire for knowledge. What he didn't understand, what he couldn't ever give her was what she had now. She had precious few years where she could play at being human. Living out the life she should have had as daughter and Miss Mystic Falls. She wasn't about to let anyone take that away from her. Besides even if she wanted to give in she couldn't. There was a gulf that existed between them that could never be breached. He would never give up Elena and she wouldn't give up what she had with Tyler no matter the effect Klaus had on her or how he made her feel. "I can learn everything I need to right here at Mystic Falls high and that at the University of Virginia.

"I can wait. When you are done there and ready to move on I will show you everything that you have missed."

Caroline wanted to point out that when she was ready to move on and see what the world had to offer she would do it with Tyler, but she couldn't tell him that. Just like she didn't want to think of what would happen when Klaus had taken out whoever wanted to kill her and she had fulfilled her dates to him. She knew, even though she tried to forget it when she was with him, her goal was to eliminate the threat he was to Elena. Damon would be after her soon to find out if she had learned anything to help their cause. Thankfully, she hadn't because she wasn't sure what she would even do with that information if she had it. She felt pulled in so many directions and that no matter what actions she took or what decisions she made, she was doomed to failure. Sometimes it was all too much for her to deal with and with every day that passed she found it harder and harder to see right from wrong.

Suddenly, she was suffocating and without even realizing it she began to breathe, her breaths catching raggedly in her throat. Her eyes fluttered as the world began to spin, her vision narrowing to blackened slits. She was going to pass out from lack of oxygen and she didn't even need to be breathe. The ridiculousness of this was almost too much and she tried to laugh only to find that tears were beginning to stream down her cheeks.

"Caroline?"

While she heard Klaus's voice, it was muffled as if it was coming from very far away. She started to tremble, her limbs growing cold as her breaths came faster and faster. Then she was in his arms, her head resting firmly against his chest. She could feel the soft cotton of his shirt on her cheek as he held her tight, so tightly she couldn't even move.

"Shhh, love. Shhh," Klaus crooned as he rocked her gently in his embrace.

Slowly the warmth from his body seeped into hers, a rush of heat that soothed her, driving the ice from her blood. Her tension, the stiffness in her muscles slowly loosened until she felt almost liquid. She focused on her breathing, inhaling and slowly exhaling until she no longer felt the need to breathe at all anymore. Then she just let him hold her. Caroline felt so safe, so comfortable she didn't even want to think about ever leaving Klaus's arms or the world that existed beyond this moment, but she knew how impossible that was.

Klaus stilled his rocking movements as if he sensed her return to sanity. Instead of releasing her, he brushed her hair back from her face with comforting strokes, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Everything better now?"

She murmured an agreement. Surprisingly, it was even though not a single thing had been solved. She was still just as tormented by the choices she was going to have to make, but being in Klaus's arms had in some way taken the edge off. "What just happened to me?"

"You had a panic attack."

"Seriously? How is that even possible? Vampires don't get panic attacks." Caroline moved to pull herself out of Klaus's arms only to give up when he without any effort at all kept her right in place. She couldn't believe it. Was she really that weak that she could fail so spectacularly even at being a vampire?

"They do when they have dealt with what you have recently."

Caroline wiped away the tears that remained on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Your mother barely accepts what you are and not only did your father try to torture your vampiric nature out of you he also chose to die rather then become what you are. And as you have said yourself, the Salvatores constantly take advantage of you by using you as a pawn in their schemes without ever seeing you as the intelligent asset you are. On top that, you are constantly trying to be as human as possible and hold on to that life for the sake of your friends and family while you slip further and further from who you once were," Klaus answered, his voice grim end emotionless.

"No, you have it all wrong," Caroline denied, at last managing to pull herself from Klaus's arms. "It isn't like that at all."

"Isn't it?" Klaus looked down into her face, his gaze ruthlessly tearing into hers. "As if that isn't enough for you to bear someone is trying to kill you for no reason other then your relationship with me."

"Maybe, that is true, but what you said earlier wasn't." At Caroline's protest, Klaus's eyes darkened. "Well, the part about my parents kind of is true," she paused to amend, "and what you said about the Salvatores, but nothing else."

"Deny what you need to for right now, but that doesn't change the truth of what I said." Klaus grasped her shoulders, his fingers biting into her muscles. "But, Caroline, I will promise you this. I am going to keep you safe. Whoever is after you, I will kill them."

At the deadly threat she heard in Klaus's voice, Caroline had no doubt he would. Most likely in the most horrific way possible and she wasn't sure she minded in the least. Especially after seeing the painful way Carl had died instead of her. "I know."

Pleased at her answer, Klaus let go of her shoulders.

With a sigh of exhaustion, Caroline fell back against the couch. "And I didn't have a panic attack."

Klaus arched an eyebrow at her comment. "So all that was just a means for you to have an excuse to fall into my arms?"

"No," Caroline sputtered.

"Because all you have to do, sweetheart, is ask." Klaus turned to look at her, his fingertips reaching out to lightly stroke the side of her face and then dipping into her neck. The feather light caress left tingles racing all over Caroline's flesh and she couldn't help the way her body instinctively yearned to lean in closer to him, to feel that delicate touch over the rest of her skin. "Or look at me like you are right now."

"I'm not looking at you any differently then I normally do," she said, tearing her gaze from his. Glancing down at her textbooks and notebooks, she picked up her history one and corresponding notebook. For the first time ever she wished she had more homework. It was still a few hours until her mother came home and she had no idea how she could continue to be around Klaus without some kind of distraction.

Klaus took the textbook from her. "History?" He asked, paging through the book.

"Another subject I am sure you excel at," she remarked dryly.

A smug look crossed his face. "So what time period are we looking at?"

"Not that I need any help, but we are studying the French Revolution."

"Ah, one of my favorites. Kol relished the constant bloodshed and chaos. He especially loved feeding on the Jacobins. All that delicious righteousness while they murdered thousands."

Caroline couldn't help but shiver. She wasn't sure if that was because of Kol or the sheer numbers of people killed. She hadn't as of yet had any interaction with Klaus's brother, but she knew of him and his reputation and she had no interest in getting to know the Original.

"So what is the assignment?" Klaus asked with interest.

"It isn't terribly difficult." Caroline wrinkled her nose. "Just a few paragraphs on a topic that interests me about the reading."

Klaus looked up from the history textbook with interest. "What was the reading about?"

"Just a bunch of dates and a general overview of the French Revolution. Rather boring, actually."

"What kind of textbook are you reading? During this time period the monarchy was abolished, the idea of the divine right of kings forever destroyed, the king and queen were executed, the class system collapsed and radicalism took over leading to the Reign of Terror," Klaus replied, his tone almost gleeful. "It was an amazing time to be alive."

"Not for those that lost their heads," Caroline countered.

Flipping pages in the history textbook, Klaus stopped at the section that focused on the French Revolution, quickly scanning the chapter. "You're right. It is rather boring and most of it is incorrect. Especially what is written about the Royals. I wonder if Rebekah has read any of this? She would be upset to see the Queen treated so shabbily as she knew her."

Caroline slowly blinked at this bit of news. "Rebekah was friends with Marie Antoinette?"

"Of a sort. We spent some time at the French court before things became too dangerous. Rebekah and the Queen spent many evenings together as they both had a love for fashion, dancing and theatre."

"What was Marie Antoinette really like?"

Klaus furrowed his brow thoughtfully before speaking, "I remember her mostly as very unhappy, but she masked it well with a dizzying social life. History doesn't treat her kindly, but historians forget how little power she had. She despaired at always been seen as the enemy in a country she tried to make her own and any time she attempted to influence political policy she was ignored or made out to be the villain."

"Tell me more about the Royal Family?" Caroline picked up her pencil and began to write. "What about the king?"

"Louis the XVI should never had been a king. He was indecisive, lacked the conviction to stand his ground on political issues and he had a ridiculous need to be loved by the masses," Klaus said with an expression of disgust on his face. "Although he can't be blamed for the destruction of the monarchy as it was in decline since the middle of Louis XV's reign, his actions were the death knell."

"Still, he didn't deserve to be beheaded."

Klaus shrugged. "It was in the best interest of the republic that someone be made politically responsible for the mess France was in and the death of the king would ultimately legitimize the revolution."

"It's all so sad."

"It was long ago, love, and that is the price that is paid when one doesn't understand the responsibilities that come with having power," Klaus replied with a gentle tone. "Take comfort that at least the guillotine is merciful. It is a quick and painless death as the spinal cord is severed instantly. He didn't suffer."

Caroline felt almost ill at the gruesome imagery put in her head from Klaus's words. "The Queen?"

"She was guillotined less then a year after her husband. Of course, she had to suffer a ridiculous sham of a trial where she was found guilty of every heinous crime that could be imagined including incest with her son. It was heartbreaking for Rebekah and I know she was involved to some extent in the Carnation Plot to rescue the Queen and her children."

Pausing at the end of her written sentence, Caroline tried to imagine Rebekah actually friends with a human. To such an extent she would care about their fate and their offspring. As hard as it was to admit it, there seemed to be lot more to Rebekah than Caroline had originally thought. It was so much easier when she only saw Rebekah as a vicious killer, completely lost to all humanity, but it seemed that wasn't always the case. This knowledge sat uneasily with Caroline, making her feelings towards the girl and the original family all that more conflicted. "What happened to the children," she asked, mentally preparing herself for the worst.

"Louis Joseph and Sophie died before the Revolution and Louis-Charles most likely died from tuberculosis caused by neglect while in prison. His sister, Marie Therese, did live to see the monarchy restored to France twice. The second time she managed to reign as Queen for twenty minutes until her husband abdicated the throne."

Caroline scribbled furiously, writing down Klaus's information. "Did you know her too?"

"As a young child I met her." Klaus looked down at Caroline's notebook. "You should add that as an adult she displayed a courage very few had. She was the only one in her family to take a stand against Napoleon during his return from exile."

"She sounds quite formidable," Caroline said as she finished filling her required page of history homework.

"Napoleon was certainly impressed."

Closing her notebook, Caroline turned to face Klaus. "Thanks for the help. I really do appreciate it. It would have taken me a lot longer without you."

"Anytime, love." Klaus mouth curled into a pleased smirk. "I rather enjoyed the walk down memory lane."

As always, Caroline was struck by the lives that Klaus must have lived, the things he had seen and experienced and it made her feel very insignificant. It made no sense to her that he could possibly be content to stay here in such a small town as Mystic Falls. It couldn't be because he was staying for her. How could he be in the least bit interested in her? What did she have to offer that could possibly compare to the famous women he had known throughout the centuries?

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," Caroline replied, lowering her eyes.

"Nothing?" Klaus repeated with an incredulous look in her direction. "You are always thinking something. No, you have something on your mind. Something that is obviously bothering you."

Caroline set her notebook on the floor. "My thoughts are my own, Klaus. I don't need to share them with you."

Klaus frowned at her obstinate tone. "You do when I can see they are clearly upsetting you. Does it have to do with the attempt on your life, because I swear they will never get that close to you again."

"It isn't that," Caroline replied with a strangled laugh. How could she tell him how his pursuit of her made absolutely no sense? That even if she were to fall into his arms, it wouldn't be long before her allure faded Because who was she really but a young, inexperienced vampire from a small town in America?

"Look at me, Caroline."

At the command, she lifted her gaze to his, almost afraid of what she would find there. While he wasn't angry, his jaw was clenched tightly. He stared at her intently, his eyes boring into her as if he was trying to see straight into her soul.

"You promised you wouldn't compel me," she whispered.

"I won't. I would never jeopardize your trust that way. Not anymore."

She smiled slightly, knowing how very frustrating it must have been for him to reach that decision, to give up that power with her.

"So, tell me what brought that look of sadness into your face and don't bother attempting to lie."

With a sigh, Caroline shifted positions on the couch settling her legs underneath her, using the distraction to try and think of a reasonable explanation and failing miserably. "What…what is it exactly that you see in me?" Klaus opened up his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "I mean you have known Queens and Princesses, some of the most famous people in history and yet you are interested in me. I don't understand it."

In silence, Klaus reached for her hand, turning it palm up he pressed his lips to the sensitive skin. A long, delicious shiver ran up Caroline's arm, spreading through her body.

"How is it that you can't see what I can?" he said.

"What do you see?" she murmured weakly, turning to stare deeply into his eyes, losing herself in their midnight depths.

"Perfection." Klaus slid his lips over her palm, stopping at the delicate skin of her wrist, where her blue veins stood out against her pale skin. Caroline exhaled a ragged breath at the heat that simmered inside of her at his nearness, his touch.

"Klaus, don't."

"Don't what?" he asked his lips grazing the very spot on her wrist where her pulse had once fluttered.

"Don't make me fall in love you," she sighed, her whole body thrumming with desire.

Lifting his head, he slowly smiled down at her, a smile of triumph and tenderness. "It's far to late for that, love." Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her in close to him.

Caroline let her head fall tiredly against his shoulder, curling herself into his arms. She was so exhausted from fighting him, fighting her feelings for him. For just a moment, she would let him hold her, would luxuriate in the comforting closeness that came from being near him. At least for a while.

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep, not until she heard someone in the house. Blinking her eyes wearily, she instantly noticed that Klaus was still here, his arms around her.

"Caroline?"

Panic raced through her veins like quicksilver as she looked up towards the kitchen where the voice had come from.

"Mom?"

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Thanks to my wonderful reviewers: StefanxKlaus14, LoveandWinning, daynjasaurousrex, Estel la Rodeuse, ElisebethVE, Lovely Vero, meagainpauline, Fallendarkangel693, InuGome17, chey1235, maevelin, Sci-fi Christian, Matt-On-Matt, Clara, ccc, xXxVioletDelightsxXx, epic sweetness712, lily94, Ariel C. Rilmonn, ChristoferDrewFlu, Aria, nostalgiakills, LovelyLynn92, Missy, LorenaLaufey, SharkGurl, Shanynde and beverlie4055.

Thanks also to all the people that sent supportive PM's. Those were so very much appreciated. I have already started the next chapter so I promise the next update will not take nearly as long as this one. :)


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you to ElisebethVE for her flawless beta work.

Thanks also to Banana71588 for her enthusiastic help.

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She didn't realize she had fallen asleep, not until she heard someone in the house. Blinking her eyes wearily, she instantly noticed that Klaus was still here with his arms around her.

"Caroline?"

Panic raced through her veins like quicksilver as she looked up towards the kitchen from where the voice came.

"Mom?"

"What on earth—"

"It isn't what you think," Caroline rushed to her assure her mother as she yanked herself from Klaus's embrace and stumbled to her feet. Only she was afraid it looked exactly like what her mother would think, that she had fallen asleep in Klaus's arms.

Hands on her hips, Liz stared her at Caroline with shock and anger. "And what exactly am I supposed to think when I come home from work to find you on the couch with that—" her mother paused as if she finally realized who she was about to insult.

Klaus smoothly rose to his feet, wrapping his arm around Caroline's waist. "How lovely to see you again, Sheriff Forbes."

Caroline stiffened at Klaus's possessive touch, turning to glare at him in warning. "Mom, Klaus was just leaving."

"Where are your manners, love?" Klaus replied, a touch of a smirk on his face. "I am sure your mother has a lot of questions for us. Which we would be more then happy to answer."

"I…I do," Liz stammered, clearly taken aback by his generous offer.

"Anything my mom needs to know I can tell her, " Caroline bit out.

Klaus looked at Liz and gestured towards the plush chair opposite of the couch as if he owned the place. "Perhaps you would like to sit down?"

"This really isn't necessary," Caroline protested.

Giving her daughter a stony look, Liz seated herself stiffly on the edge of the cushioned chair. "Oh, this is very necessary."

Klaus sat down, pulling Caroline with him. "I wish we could had this conversation under better circumstances, but it can't be helped."

"What conversation is that?" Liz asked coldly. "The one where you tell me why my daughter seems to have no reservations about sleeping cozily in the arms of the greatest threat our town has ever had?"

"Yes, that one," Klaus answered, a pleased gleam in his eye.

"I know that this looks bad, but it isn't what you think," Caroline attempted to explain.

Liz clasped her hands tightly together in her lap until her knuckles were white. "I'm quite sure it is exactly what I think. How long has this been going on?"

"Caroline and I have been seeing each other for several weeks," Klaus announced with pleasure, laying his hand heavily on top of hers.

Biting her lip, Caroline watched the color drain from her mother's face at having her worst fears confirmed. In that moment she hated Klaus, hated knowing what this knowledge would do to her mother. In Liz's eyes, she knew was betraying everything that her mother fought for in being with a murderous, vampire hybrid.

"Is this true?" her mother asked, her voice begging Caroline to say differently.

Caroline felt the pressure of Klaus's gaze on her and knew he was daring her to deny their relationship. She was trapped like an animal in a cage, which was exactly what he wanted. He was leaving her with no choice but to openly admit to her mother what existed between them. Taking this step would give him what he ultimately wanted, validation of his place in her life. He knew once she did that there would be no going back and what choice did she really have?

"Yes," she whispered at last, unable to look her mother in the face.

Liz's shoulders sagged at the affirmation. "What about Tyler? Does he know?"

At the mention of her boyfriend, Caroline felt Klaus tense, his hand tightening over hers. Her mouth went dry as she realized the dangerous turn the conversation had taken. "I haven't told him about Klaus yet, but I will."

"He will be devastated," Liz replied.

The accusing way her mother looked at her filled Caroline with guilt and shame. She knew exactly what her mother was thinking. She was betraying Tyler in the worst way as the whole reason he had left his friends and family in Mystic Falls was for her, to be with her without the Sire bond Klaus had imposed on him. She wished she could tell her the truth, make her mother understand that she was dating Klaus to make things safe for her friends and in a roundabout way for Tyler. The only problem was she didn't know how to convince her mother of this when it was getting harder and harder to convince herself.

"I am sure he will be fine. We broke up before this. Besides we weren't that serious," Caroline lied, hoping her mother would drop the subject.

Liz blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize."

At Caroline's words, Klaus relaxed, his fingers lightly twining between hers. "I am sure he will find someone else."

A lump formed in her throat. Caroline wondered if Tyler would once he realized she was essentially cheating on him. Would she be able to make him understand, to forgive her? To see how she had no choice? She couldn't stand to lose Tyler, not after everything she had gone through.

"Caroline, have you thought through this? Are you sure that this is what you really want? To be with him?" Liz leaned forward fixing her gaze on Caroline, her eyes swimming with worry and concern. "Because if not, I can revoke his invitation here and the council can keep you safe."

"And to think, I thought I had your support and that of the council," Klaus said in a dangerously calm voice.

Shivers ran through Caroline at her mother's daring words. Didn't she realize the jeopardy she had just placed everyone in? If Liz revoked her invitation to Klaus, there would be a bloodbath in Mystic Falls before nightfall. Her mother was completely delusional if she thought the council had any power over Klaus at all. They existed purely at his whim. Even though Klaus hadn't moved a muscle, Caroline could sense the barely contained anger that simmered under the surface.

"Mom, it's okay. I know what I am doing." Caroline smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. "Besides, we're just dating," she added with one of her trademark eye rolls that she hoped would convince her mother.

The deeply etched worry lines in Liz's forehead relaxed slightly, but her gaze stayed fixed on her daughter as if she still wasn't quite convinced.

"I realize we should have come to you first with our relationship, so you didn't have to find out about it in this manner," Klaus said stiffly. "It would have been the honorable thing to do, but Caroline had reservations about how you would perceive our dating. However, I assured her that as her mother you would be everything that was supportive."

While Klaus's tone was soft, his words were a direct attack at Liz and Caroline shot him an angry look as her mother winced and flushed with shame.

"You can hardly expect her to be pleased by this turn of events. Especially since someone is trying to kill me directly because of my relationship with you," Caroline retorted, instantly regretting her confession as she saw the look of horror on her mother's face.

"Is that true? Liz demanded.

"There may have been an attack on my life, but probably not. It could easily have been meant for Klaus. He has a lot of enemies," she said lamely, squirming uneasily as Klaus clenched and unclenched his jaw.

"You will have to forgive Caroline. She seeks to protect your feelings, but I won't. Not where her safety is concerned," Klaus answered with a ferocious look at Caroline. "She was almost killed by a hybrid attack and it is my belief that the perpetrator will strike again."

Liz's hand went to her heart. "Do you think someone is trying to kill my daughter because of her relationship to you?"

"Yes," Klaus replied harshly.

"Caroline, you need to end this relationship now. Stop seeing him," Liz said with distress.

"No," Klaus snapped. "It's too late for that. Being with me is the only thing that will save her."

Liz shook her head. "How can you say that when it is being with you that is putting her in danger?"

Klaus pulled his hand from Caroline's and leaned forward on the couch to stare icily at Liz through narrowed eyes. "Because only I have the power and ability to keep her safe. Whoever is doing this is not going to stop just because she ceases to spend time with me."

"The Council and Damon can —"

"Can what?" Klaus interrupted Liz, his voice a silken threat. "You would entrust your daughters safety to that poor excuse of a vampire and your town's most ineffective group of humans? Do you forget who I am?"

Caroline was frightened. She could tell Klaus was perilously close to the edge and only the bond that she shared with her mother was keeping him from punishing Liz for her impudence. Reaching out to touch him, she placed her hand lightly on his knee, a gentle reminder for him to rein himself in.

Liz lowered her gaze submissively as if she was suddenly aware of her own peril in challenging an Original. "No and Caroline shouldn't either."

"Your daughter has nothing to ever fear from me. I would never hurt a hair on her head and she knows it." To Caroline's surprise, Klaus lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Looking at her mother she couldn't help but note Liz's look of shock and awe at Klaus's tender gesture.

"If this is true, that you care for Caroline," Liz began, pausing to give Klaus a pleading look, "then you have to understand my fears for her safety."

"I do…" Klaus tilted his head to look down at Caroline, a fierce expression on his face. "care very much for Caroline. More then you could ever fathom," he said with a velvet growl. "Which is why I am here talking with you."

What was left unsaid, Caroline realized, was his mercy in allowing her this freedom, to be here in here in her home with her mom. He was giving her this courtesy out of his affection for her instead of following his instincts and locking her up in his mansion.

"And I appreciate that," Liz said quietly and Caroline saw for the first time that her mother finally seemed to register the threat that Klaus was. "Can you tell me what actions you have taken in trying to protect my daughter?"

Clearly pleased at her mother's response, Klaus relaxed and leaned back against the couch. "My original intent was to have Caroline move in with me."

Liz opened her mouth to protest, but Caroline beat her to it. "But, I decided that really wasn't an option. After all we just started dating and that is kind of rushing things after all and I am still in high school and really this is my home," Caroline said, attempting to reassure her mother.

"As I am sure you know, your daughter can be quite stubborn when she makes up her mind about something," Klaus said with a fond, yet exasperated look at Caroline. "So it was decided she would continue to live here with some adjustments, of course."

"These adjustments being?" Liz asked.

"To start with, I have my hybrids surrounding your place."

Liz's hand nervously went to her gun.

"You needn't worry. None of them have invitations to your home," Klaus said dryly. "They are here merely to watch the place and make sure that no one who could possibly be a threat enters."

"The neighbors?" Liz asked, placing her hand once more in her lap. "They will be safe?"

"I have made it clear they are not to be touched. As long as they don't interfere in the protection of Caroline."

Liz slowly exhaled at Klaus's reassurance. "Good. I don't want anyone to be harmed."

"Besides the hybrids guarding your home, it is also my intention to stay here in the evenings to watch over Caroline," Klaus said with a direct look at Liz. "I want to be here when she gets home from school and stay until she leaves in the morning. After that she will be under my sister's care."

"Wait? What? You can't just move in here," Caroline argued with a stubborn toss of her head.

"Even you have to admit that your daughter couldn't ask for better protection then myself," Klaus said smoothly, completely ignoring Caroline. "There is only one thing in this world that can actually kill me and it exists no longer."

Caroline could tell that her mother was actually was thinking about the offer from the way her forehead was puckering. That always happened when Liz was deep in thought. "Mom? You can't actually be considering this?"

"He is right," Liz said softly. "I don't doubt that there is little that can kill him. Plus, there is probably not another vampire as strong as he is. Or as deadly."

Klaus lips curled into a triumphant smirk.

"Mom? You can't let him move in here. What kind of responsible parent does that?" Caroline asked in a panic. She couldn't believe how easily Klaus was getting his way. If her mother agreed with his proposition it would be like she was giving her blessing to their relationship; she knew that once they let him into their lives like this there would be no going back.

"One that loves and wants to protect her daughter by any means necessary," Liz replied, giving her daughter a puzzled look. "Besides why does it bother you so much? He's your boyfriend. When you were with Tyler, I had to practically kick him out of here at night. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"No." Caroline shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Klaus turned his gaze to her, his blue eyes cutting at her like shards of ice. "I just thought that maybe you would be worried as to how this would look to the council to have Klaus staying here in your home?"

Liz agitatedly straightened her sheriff's badge pinned to her chest. "Don't worry about the council. I will talk to them and get them to understand."

"If there are any issues tell them they are free to speak to me themselves," Klaus said with a sardonic air and a flash of white teeth. "I would be happy to set them straight."

Caroline knew exactly what he meant by set them straight and it didn't mean a cozy conversation over coffee. Her mother must have known too, because she inhaled sharply.

"If you don't mind, I will take care of this. There is no need to involve you or Caroline," Liz said forcefully.

"Perhaps they would deign to look more favorably on our association if they were aware of the fund that Caroline and I started for vampire victims," Klaus said with a playful tone as he once more reached for Caroline's hand. "I believe the plan was to turn it over to the council to disburse. Isn't that right, love?"

"Yes, that was the plan," Caroline replied weakly. With everything that had happened recently she had completely forgotten about the fund until Klaus brought it up just now. Of course, it was just like him to take her idea and twist it around for his own needs. She knew that the council would eagerly take his money and in return they would pretend to ignore the source it came from. As long as Klaus didn't directly attack the founding families they would look the other way.

Liz's mouth opened and closed several times before she found the ability to speak. "You started a fund for vampire victims?"

Klaus waved his hand dismissively. "It was all Caroline's idea. You know how kind-hearted she is. She felt that something needed to be done for the victims of vampire attacks."

"Well, we have frequently talked about it, but I never dreamed she would approach you or that you would…" Liz's voice trailed off as if she realized what she said next might be construed as offensive. "How much is in the fund?"

"With Caroline's donation it would be a little over a million," Klaus said smiling with pleasure at Caroline's exclamation of shock at the amount. "I am perfectly willing to turn it over to the council provided they want to take over the responsibility of managing it."

Liz's eyes widened with astonishment. "Where on earth did you come up with such a large amount? Caroline couldn't have come up with this much on her own."

"Caroline donated the amount she spent on her prom dress and the rest is from me," Klaus answered with a smug look on his face.

"How? Why?" Liz asked with wonder in her voice.

"Your daughter can be quite persuasive when she wants to be."

Caroline turned to look at Klaus, thankful he hadn't mentioned the story behind the money in that fund. The dress he refused to let her pay for, the way she had earned the rest of the money through a chess game. She had known he meant to give her a substantial donation for the fund, but she never would have guessed he would offer a million dollars. Still, she wasn't gullible enough not to recognize his motivations in being so generous. He was trying to please both her and her mother and get on the council's good side, but did it really matter if the money went to a good cause?

"Yes, she can be," Liz replied, her eyes softening as she looked at her daughter. "While I have a lot of reservations about this relationship, I am going to have to trust that you know what you are doing, Caroline. You have the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known, and if this is whom you have chosen to be with, then I will support you. I have doubted you in the past and I won't make that mistake again."

"Mom —" Caroline interrupted, unable to bear the contrition in her mother's voice.

Liz shook her head. "So, having said that, there are going to have to be some ground rules if your boyfriend is going to be staying here."

It felt so weird to hear Klaus called that, Caroline started at the word. Her mother really believed that she and Klaus were a couple. She fought the urge to laugh until she cried. He had gotten what he wished for, unfettered access to her at all times and she could do nothing about it. With this turn of events, she finally understood what it was like to be a fly facing a spider. She was trapped and the more she struggled the deeper she fell into the web Klaus had spun for her.

"Of course, Sheriff Forbes. I would expect no less."" Klaus replied and the laughter in his voice had Caroline turning to frown at him. Looking into his dancing eyes she knew he was thoroughly enjoying this situation.

"Please call me Liz," her mother offered with a friendly, yet strained smile. "After all we are going to be seeing a lot of each other"

Klaus dipped his head slightly. "Then please do me the honor of calling me Klaus."

Caroline couldn't believe it. This whole situation was so bizarre she wanted to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming, but even she didn't have the imagination for such a surreal scenario. Who would have ever thought a bloodthirsty hybrid would politely exchange first names with a law-abiding sheriff?

"It has always been my rule that Caroline is not allowed to have her boyfriends in her bedroom. Unfortunately, she seems to forget this on a frequent basis," Liz said with a stern expression.

"Mom!"

Liz held up a warning finger to silence Caroline and cleared her throat several times. "I am not unaware of, or blind to, certain activities that could take place there or have already taken place, but I would prefer they not take place here."

"Seriously! Mom!" Caroline exclaimed, rolling her eyes. She couldn't believe her mother was alluding to her sex life. Especially with Klaus in the room. She was so embarrassed and she didn't even need to look at Klaus to know he was barely suppressing his laughter.

"Don't get so upset, Caroline," Liz admonished. "I am just making sure that you and Klaus know where I stand. He can stay here overnight, but once you go to bed he needs to sleep on the couch."

"That is perfectly understandable and we will respect your wishes while we are here," Klaus agreed.

Caroline looked up at Klaus and the look of mirth on his face was enough to want to make her want to slap him. He was laughing at her, laughing at her mother and the whole ridiculous situation they were in. "Don't worry, mom. There won't be any trouble on my end keeping him out of my bedroom," Caroline snarled.

If she had hoped to take him down a notch, it didn't seem to work in the least as he merely grinned at her.

Liz released a relieved sigh, "Good."

"Now if you are finished, I am ready to go to bed," Caroline said looking daggers at Klaus as she pulled her hand out of his grasp and stood up.

"Already?" Liz asked with bewilderment.

"Yes. Enjoy the couch," she shot back at Klaus as she left the room, only to hear his laughter as she slammed her bedroom door shut.

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Sinking into her bed, Caroline turned her head irately away from her bedroom door. She could still hear Klaus and her mother talking and it took all of her concentration to tune their voices out. She had no interest in how they were most likely talking about her strange behavior. Instead, she just wanted to go to sleep, to forget at least for a while the disturbing reality of her life. She wanted to dream of Tyler, of his kisses and the forgiveness she hoped to see in his eyes when they met again. Focusing on that, she closed her eyes and let the darkness swallow her until she was deep within the dream world, falling backwards in time.

Caroline picked anxiously at several scarlet stitches in her needlework. What was supposed to have been an elegant Tudor red rose had ended up looking like a lopsided tulip. As she plucked and pulled the stitches from the fabric, she was tempted to curse. This would be the third time she had stitched this part of the pattern. She hated needlework and it showed, she realized as she held the chair cover she was working on up into the sunlight. Instead of the neat and straight rows of stitches like the other Queen's handmaidens had perfected on their chair covers, hers were a haphazard line of slashes and dashes. Even though she had worked tirelessly on hers the last few days to distract herself from her endless worry about Niklaus's whereabouts, she had made little progress. If anything, her anxiety had only made her embroidery suffer more then it normally did.

It had been three days since she had last seen him. Three days since that night she had teased him about being jealous. As she thought of the way he had pulled her into the hallway to punish her with his kisses and caresses, she felt heat flood her cheeks. Caroline hadn't known, hadn't dreamed that such bliss was possible. Having had a taste of the pleasure Klaus could offer her she wantonly wanted more. Wanted all of him. Unfortunately, though she had looked and asked for him everywhere since that night he seemed to have disappeared from court.

To make matters even more worrying, ever since that night there had been multiple killings at court. A murderer was loose and six junior courtiers had lost their lives, all of them personally known to Caroline. Their deaths had been particularly gruesome and shocking, so upsetting the Queen, she had forbidden them to be spoken of. Since the murderer had yet to be caught the Queens Handmaidens were constantly guarded which made it even more difficult to find out information about Niklaus's whereabouts. She was so very scared of what might have happened to him, that he too might have lost his life to the killer and they had yet to find his body. She could only hope that his absence was because of some displeasure with her and not because he too was a victim.

Setting the seat cover back into her lap she let her gaze wander over the rose garden and she remembered the night she had brought Klaus here. That night the roses had been in full bloom, their heavy fragrance perfuming the warm air and the sky had been so clear the stars sparkled like diamonds in sunlight. Since then the weather had changed, the sun setting earlier, the nights cooler. Fall was coming and the petals were falling from the roses, leaving the blooms bruised and emaciated. Suppressing a shiver, Caroline turned back once more to her work.

Hearing booted footsteps on the cobbled brick path, Caroline clutched the seat cover tightly in her hands, preparing herself for the worst news. She had told the guards stationed at the gate not to let anyone disturb her unless it was of the outmost importance. She had needed the quiet and solitude to be alone with her thoughts. Listening keenly to the steps she noticed immediately they were not emanating from any of the guardsmen's. Their footfalls were thick and heavy and these were more light and graceful. Was it the murder coming for her? Or worse. Were they here to tell her Niklaus's body had been found? Bravely she stood, her needlework drifting to the ground as she lifted her head to face whoever was coming.

Blinking at the blazing sunlight coming from the direction of the footpath, Caroline was momentarily blinded. As her eyes adjusted she instant recognized the figure coming towards her, his sandy blonde head of hair appearing like a halo in the light.

"Niklaus," she barely breathed. Rushing towards him, her dark velvet skirts flying, she flew into his embrace. As his arms tightened around her, crushing her against his chest the worry she had carried for three days melted from her. She let him hold her, luxuriating in the feel of him, his soothing masculine scent.

Love," he murmured, his lips pressing against her curls.

At hearing his tender endearment, she yanked herself out of his arms. Tossing her head, she narrowed her eyes, as she looked him over from head to toe. He was dressed as usual in a bright blue doublet and breeches and in one hand he carried a small rectangular package wrapped in what looked like silk. Instead of focusing on what might possibly be a present, she searched for an injury anywhere on him, any wound that would give him reason to have not contacted her or anyone in the last three days. Finding nothing, she punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

"Caroline," Klaus said with a hearty laugh, her physical punishment not affecting him in the least. "What have I done to incur such wrath?"

"You know exactly what you did," she retorted, looking down her nose at him. "How could you?"

"Could I what?"

Folding her arms together tightly over her chest she tried not to let the way he was staring at her, his blue eyes twinkling, his lips drawn into a playful smirk affect her. It was just so hard to stay mad at him when he looked at her with such boyish charm, but she needed to be firm. "You disappeared. No one has seen or heard from you in three days. You have to have know after what happened…" she paused her face aflame with heat while she searched for the right words, "how we…that night…"

"Yes?" Klaus interrupted with a teasing tone.

Taking a deep steadying breath, she looked at him crossly. "You know what I mean. How could you leave with no word, no note for three whole days? You had to know I would be sick with worry."

Klaus took a step towards her, wrapping a stray curl that had fallen from her pearl strung hairnet around one finger. "Forgive me. I had no idea you would be so upset." Tugging her hair, he pulled her closer to him, close enough that he could press his lips into the slender curve of her neck.

A long, slow shiver rippled through Caroline as she felt the kiss all the way to her core. Her heartbeat sped up, her breath hitching in her throat at being so intimately close to him again.

"And it pleases me very much," Klaus purred.

"It doesn't please me to be left to worry whether you are dead or alive," Caroline replied coolly, trying to ignore the heat of his mouth on her tender flesh. "Especially with a murderer on the loose. You could have been killed. Been his next victim."

Klaus chuckled and the rich, velvety sound swirled around her like a cloak. "Never fear that, my precious Caroline."

"How can you say that? There is a murderer targeting those both young, titled and wealthy which means you could easily be chosen as his next victim. Or I," Caroline said, her voice faint as Klaus chose that exact moment to lightly suckle the taunt skin at her pulse point. Her senses spinning, Caroline swayed lightly on her feet only to be captured and steadied by Klaus's arms.

"I will protect you," Klaus answered, lifting his head to stare intently into her eyes until she felt herself getting lost in their dark depths. "Always."

His tone held all the solemnity of a spoken pledge and Caroline felt as if he truly had sworn an oath to her. The thought for some reason disturbed her and she trembled slightly against him. "I lost six of my friends and I couldn't bear it if I lost you too."

Klaus's harsh features softened, a smile lighting up his face. "You won't. Not ever."

"The murderer is still out there," Caroline said fearfully. "Maybe even now has his next victim in his sights. The killings are so terrible that the Queen will not have them spoken of."

"Caroline…" Klaus released her curl to cup her face with his hand tenderly. "Don't think of these things. You are safe, I am safe."

"My friends thought they were too. They were foolish enough to believe that there were no such things as monsters, but they must exist. They have to if the Queen is this scared. "

"Monsters?"

At the harsh tone in his voice, Caroline peered at him closely noticing his tight jaw and tense shoulders. "They say there was blood everywhere, the walls, the floor. Who else but a monster would do such a thing?"

"A monster?" Klaus asked, releasing his hold on her. "Or someone who knows rage, someone who clearly feels out of control. Someone whose whole world has been torn asunder and only in this can they find peace."

"Peace through the murder and torture of others?"

"It is a thought."

"If that is the case, what misery this creature knows to only find solace through death and violence," Caroline replied, her voice heavy with sadness. "I would almost pity him."

"He doesn't need your pity, Caroline," Klaus snarled as he turned away from her.

She knew she had upset Klaus in some fashion, but as Caroline replayed their conversation in her head she felt clueless as to how. Still, she moved towards him, laying her hand lightly upon his arm. "Maybe not, but I can't help how I feel."

He turned to her and grasping her hand in his, he lifted it to his lips for a kiss. "You are far to kind-hearted for your own good," he said dryly. "It will be your undoing."

"So, I have been told by the Queen, repeatedly," she replied with a radiant smile, releasing her hand from his. "But, it seems I never learn. Which is good because it allows me to forgive you for endlessly worrying me for three days about your whereabouts."

"I am forgiven that easily?"

Caroline tilted her head pretending to consider the matter.

"Maybe this will help convince you?" Klaus held out the silk wrapped package she had noticed earlier.

"Don't think you can buy my affections," she scolded sternly, taking the proffered package and untying the velvet ribbon that held the silk together. "But one must admit it does help," she added with a mischievous glance at Klaus. As the silk wrapping fell from the present, Caroline noticed at once that what she held was a book. A very fine and expensive one she could tell from the tooled leather binding. Turning it around to face her, she ran her fingertip over the raised, gilt lettering. "Arcadia."

"Have you heard of it?"

"I have heard talk of it, but I have never seen a copy."

"It is the Countess of Pembroke's published edition."

Caroline opened the cover to find Klaus was correct. Paging through the book she noticed that besides the printed word it was beautifully illustrated and colored. The hand drawn and painted illustrations were miniature works of art. The book must have cost a small fortune, not unlike the necklace Klaus had given her just days before. It was the perfect gift, appealing not only to her vanity like the jewelry had, but to her mind as well.

"It is beautiful," Caroline said with awe. She paged through the book, pausing periodically to look admiringly at the vibrant colors and delicate lines of the illustrations. Coming to a page illuminated in gold, she stopped to read the title.

"My true love hath my heart," Klaus said, his voice rough as he read the first line in the sonnet.

Looking up into his face, she found his gaze fixed on her. His eyes as dark blue and fathomless as a midnight sky.

"And I have his," she recited breathily what came next, her heart thudding in her chest.

"What will you do with it, Caroline?" He asked, his mouth twisting into an almost cynical smile.

"Treasure it always."

With a singe finger he tipped her chin up. "I believe you would." With those words he lowered his mouth over hers, touching his lips to hers as softly as the brush of a rose petal.

Caroline stood perfectly still. Afraid that if she blinked this moment would disappear. How she had longed to hear such words of love from him. He had spoken of leaving court together, traveling the world and she had happily agreed. Once the Queen was dead, there was no reason to stay here and every reason in the world to leave with Klaus. She loved him, longed to be with him forever and while she knew instinctively that she meant something precious to him, it wasn't until this very moment that she knew she had his heart.

"My true love hath my heart," she whispered against his lips, repeating his words.

Klaus froze and then without hesitation his lips captured hers in a bruising kiss that stole her breath. He kissed her with a wild passion, his mouth hard and demanding as if he was determined to suck her soul from her very being. Caroline didn't even fight. She gave it up eagerly, willing to face damnation as long as Klaus was by her side.

"My true love hath my heart," Caroline murmured into her pillow. At hearing her voice through the fog of her sleep she instantly startled. Abruptly she sat up in bed, her fingertips touching her lips where Klaus's mouth had just been. Vibrating with fury, she threw off her bedcovers and flung open her bedroom door. Marching right into the family room she was instantly confronted by Klaus's solid, muscular chest.

"Going somewhere, love?" He drawled.

With a strangled cry of anger, Caroline grabbed one of the throw pillows off the couch and hit him right in the head. "My true love hath my heart?"

Klaus blinked, a strange look on his face that would have unsettled her if she weren't so incredibly upset with him. Ignoring his sudden stillness, she smacked him with her pillow again.

"Seriously? My true love hath my heart! Who says that?" She dropped the pillow and poked him in the chest directly with her index finger. "I give you points for originality and thank God I awoke this time before you molested me, but this has got to stop!"

"What has to stop?" Klaus asked cautiously.

"Your messing with my dreams," Caroline bit out, poking him again.

With a swift movement, Klaus caught her hand with his. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Yeah, right," Caroline huffed, rolling her eyes. "You forget that I have seen that sick fantasy of yours so I know all about your obsession with historical Caroline."

"Historical Caroline?" Klaus repeated, his voice taunt.

"You know the one. She is all sweet and innocent and she loves you desperately," Caroline answered, sarcastically batting her eyelashes at him. "It is sickening."

"How often have you dreamed of her?"

Caroline tried to tug her hand from his, but he held it fast. "A few times and that is more then enough. You are now involved in every aspect of my waking life must you invade my dream life as well?"

"I'm not sending you these dreams."

Even though he was denying it, Caroline would have been blind not to see the pleased gleam in his eyes that she was having them. "That doesn't make sense. I saw her in your head and now she is in mine."

Klaus opened her hand and laid it over where his heart had once beat, pressing her palm against the hard muscle. "My true love hath my heart," he said softly, looking down at her, his pupils large and black.

Caroline shuddered as the memory of the other Caroline, her love and her passion for Klaus pulsed through her. For a second the world seemed to shift, the scent of roses filling the air as the words fell faintly from her lips, "And I have his."

"Yes," Klaus murmured eagerly, his lips descending towards hers.

As the dream became real before her, panic erupted in Caroline's chest. "No!" Yanking her hand from Klaus's heart, she stepped away from him. "I will not be toyed with," she spat out.

Instead of reacting with anger, hurt or even amusement, Klaus's stood there silently regarding her through hooded eyes.

"I mean it, Klaus. Stay out of my dreams," she threatened, hoping he didn't notice the hysteria she was barely holding back. These dreams, the way he was messing with her head terrified her. This other Caroline's emotions and thoughts were so clear to her that at times she struggled to remember that she wasn't real, that these were just dreams after all.

Walking back to her bedroom she swore she heard him say her name, but she didn't bother to turn around.

.

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* * *

><p>.<p>

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Caroline looked up from the book she was reading, peeking through her long lashes at Klaus. He was sprawled out on the couch, casually drawing in the sketchbook in his hand. He looked perfectly at home in her small family room and she realized with a pang in her heart that having him here no longer felt as awkward or intrusive as it used to. The past few days had actually been rather nice. They had settled into a pattern of strange domesticity. He would meet her at the door when Rebekah brought her home from school and then she would proceed to do her homework, sometimes with his help and then they would watch television together until her mom came home from work. She had even cooked dinner twice for her mom and he actually helped in the kitchen, chopping up the vegetables for her and then drying the dishes with no complaint. Then between ten and eleven she would head to bed and he would spend the night on the couch until Rebekah came in the morning. Sometimes she would wake up late at night and hear him on the phone giving orders, but for the most part he kept his whole evil hybrid life completely separate from the time he spent with her. He had even stayed completely out of her dreams, letting her rest in peace. Really, he had been entirely way too accommodating lately.

Noticing she was staring at him, Klaus looked up from his drawing to smile fondly at her. It was one of those sweet and gentle smiles of his that made her heart do flip-flops in her chest. She hated them the most because they were the hardest to resist. Realizing she was smiling back at him, she hastily looked back down at her book, frowning slightly as Klaus's chuckled.

"How is Gatsby coming along?"

"Not so good," Caroline replied with a sigh. "Everyone is unlikeable for the most part except for Gatsby. He is so in love with Daisy and normally I would think that was romantic, but I just know something tragic is going to happen."

Klaus set down his pencil. "What makes you say that?"

"Because this is supposed to be great literature and in those books someone always dies and if they don't something else horrible happens. It's like in order for something to be a classic it has to be depressing and have an unhappy ending. Why can't people ever write about unicorns, fluffy kittens and rainbows?" Caroline said petulantly, flashing Klaus an annoyed look when he erupted with laughter at her comment.

Having had more then enough of Fitzgerald's, _The Great Gatsby, _Caroline tossed the book on the end table next to her chair. Looking over at Klaus, his head once more buried in his sketchbook, a studious look on his face she felt the sudden urge to see what he was so eagerly working on. She had been wanting to steal a peak at his drawings ever since he had started bringing his artwork with him to work on. Only she had avoided the subject, not wishing to show any interest in what he did out of frustration at being practically his prisoner. As if he knew she was curious he always managed to keep his work slightly hidden as he worked on it and the more he tried to hide it the more determined she was to see it.

"I am going to get a drink," she said standing up. When he barely nodded, not even lifting his head to glance at her she knew what she was going to do. Starting towards the kitchen she swiftly turned on her way and yanked the sketchbook out of his hands. Given the element of surprise it was surprisingly easy. Having captured the prize she ran towards her bedroom.

"Caroline," Klaus growled, a blur of movement as he followed her.

She cackled gleefully as she made it into her bedroom before he managed to catch her.

"Give it back, love," Klaus threatened from her doorway.

"I don't think so," she teased, sitting on her bed. "I want to see what you have been working on that you have been trying so hard to hide from me."

Klaus sauntered into her bedroom. "Maybe if you asked nicely?"

"Hey! You aren't allowed in here. Remember that whole little lecture from my mom that you agreed with?"

"I think that rule was made to be broken," Klaus purred advancing on her until he stood at the foot of her bed.

Caroline scrambled backwards on her bed until her shoulders hit her backboard. "I am going to tell on you!"

"Please do. Just be aware I will be forced to tell your mother why exactly I followed you in here. I am sure she would understand once she hears that you stole my sketchbook."

Biting her lip, Caroline conceded that he was right. Her mother not only would understand, she would be shocked at Caroline's childish behavior. Before she could even blink Klaus was sitting next to her in her bed. She rushed to move, but he grabbed her wrist. With a whoosh of air she fell next to him, his arm moving around her shoulders to cradle her against him.

"Shall I make you pay for your theft?" Klaus asked, his voice a low seductive rumble in his chest as he stared at her, desire heavy in his gaze.

"No," Caroline squeaked out, attempting to shove the sketchbook back at him. "You can have it back."

"Open it."

Now that she had his permission at last to see what he had been working on the last few days she wasn't sure she wanted to look.

"It won't bite," Klaus said with amusement as she continued to hold the book anxiously without opening it.

Taking a deep breath she flipped open the cover of the sketchbook. It was a drawing of her, legs folded beneath her on the couch working on her calculus homework. She must have been struggling with the problem from the determined look on her face. Feeling uncomfortable with looking at her face she turned the page only to find another sketch of herself, this time in the kitchen with an apron on as she worked on the meatloaf she had made the other night for her mother. Continuing to page through the book she was confronted with drawing after drawing of herself, doing homework, watching television and working in the kitchen. She wanted to be freaked out by this obsession with her, but she mostly saw the beautiful care that went into each and every drawing, the loving detail in the sparse and delicate lines. Every page was a small masterpiece.

"They're all of me."

"Yes," Klaus answered simply.

Caroline studied the drawing he had last been working on. She could barely recognize herself in the beautiful, young girl that sat reading. Her curls fell lightly against her cheeks, her lips soft and sensual, her eyes almost haunted. "The drawings…they're so beautiful. I can't believe that they're of me."

"I draw only what I see, love."

Turning her head to look at him, she found his gaze already on her "This is how you see me?" She asked, her breath catching in her throat.

"Can't you see how beautiful you are?" Klaus's replied, his voice skimming delicately over her skin like the touch of silk.

Caroline shook her head, shivering slightly as his arm tightened around her shoulders, pressing her even more intimately against him. She didn't know what to say.

"Then let me show you." Klaus lowered his head, his mouth swooping down to taste her lips. With feather light touches, he kissed her as delicately as if she was spun glass. He savored her lips, his tongue sweeping against the seam of her mouth until she was unable to resist any longer and she opened for him like a flower in the early morning sun. He tasted like fine wine and danger and she eagerly drank it in. The innocence of the kiss was soon lost as a small moan escaped her, the sketchbook falling from her trembling hands as she curled her fingers into the back of his head. His mouth slashed tighter against hers, his tongue searching and finding hers in a seductive dance. Caroline shivered as all the longing she had worked so hard to repress poured out of her. The kiss erupted into a volcano of heat that set her nerve endings on fire. She had been fighting this for so long, denying to herself the passion that existed between them and now with hardly a thought she gave into her most hidden desires.

He must have sensed her capitulation because without his mouth ever leaving hers, he slid her down the bed, rolling on top of her. Caroline could feel every hard edge and line of his muscular body on top of hers and she melted. Klaus lifted his head to look at her, an expression of triumph and lust on his face as golden fire leapt in his irises. Unwilling to see her fall from grace in his eyes, she tugged viciously on his hair, pulling his lips once more to hers. He groaned with desire as his mouth crashed into hers once more. Klaus moved slightly, sliding between her legs and the slight erotic pressure against her core had her seeing stars. With a shudder she bit down on his lip and she felt him smile against her mouth. There was a hint of his blood on her tongue and she relished the taste, potent and rich with magic, her eyes rolling back into her head. While she reveled in his blood he lifted his head, only to slide his lips down her neck. She felt him lightly suckle the tender skin where her pulse had once fluttered, his tongue sweeping over the flesh that Damon had once ravaged.

"It should have been me," he growled against the place that had carried the Salvatore's mark over a year ago.

Caroline fell through the cloud of passion she had been floating in as Klaus lifted his head, to bare his fangs. The haze fell from her eyes as cold, stark reality set in. He was going to bite her. Placing her hands on his shoulders she shoved him off of her with all her strength. With a groan he fell next to her on the bed. She didn't even wait, flying off the bed she ran into the living room.

He met her there, his eyes wild and his jaw tense. "Love —"

"Don't," she snapped. "What was I thinking? I know. I wasn't." Taking a deep breath, she tried to compose herself. "How could you? I almost died once before from such a bite."

"I would never, could never hurt you," Klaus vowed, pressing his hand against his heart. "With my blood in your mouth it wouldn't have affected you at all. It would only have given you pleasure. I swear it."

Caroline blinked rapidly, processing this information. "This wasn't about my pleasure at all. I heard you," she accused. "You wanted to mark me like a dog does his territory. Does it bother you that it was Damon that tasted me first?"

Rage flickered over Klaus's face for only a second before he once more took control. "To the contrary, I am most grateful to Damon for ensuring that you didn't meet your end at Katherine's hands."

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Caroline searched for the truth in his eyes. As he stared back at her confidently and without guile she had to admit at last that he was speaking honestly. "Yet, it should have been you?" She said, throwing his earlier words back at him.

"Yes, Caroline," he rasped, prowling towards her like a barely caged beast. "It should have been me who tasted you first."

She backed away as he moved gracefully, like the sleek predator he was until he had her cornered against the wall. His gaze landed on hers, his eyes glittering and sharp, slicing through her, right to her heart. Caroline stood quietly, willing herself to stay calm. He touched her then, his fingertips grazing her cheek and she tried to move away, but it only made him move closer to her. His fingers trailed a silky path down her neck until they rested where his mouth had been just seconds earlier. He leaned in until his lips were next to her ear and she trembled as his heat surrounded her, her traitorous body softening.

"I would never have treated you as he did. I would have treasured you, adored you from the first," he said, his voice thick. His lips followed the trail of his fingertips, his mouth dragging over the highly sensitive skin.

"No," she panted. "You lie. Have you conveniently forgotten how you were willing to sacrifice me?"

"That is before I knew, before I understood." He pressed his lips to the very spot of where he would have bitten her long ago if he had his way and when he scraped his teeth over the flesh, lightly nipping, tremors ran through her.

Caroline's chest heaved, her body pulsing, her head falling back to bare her throat to him. "Klaus." It was an invitation, an acknowledgement of what lay between them now. Once more she was giving into her lust, her darkest desires, but she no longer cared.

She felt the vibrations of the garage door opening before she heard the car in the driveway. Her mom was home. Klaus heard it too because, with an oath, he pulled away from her.

"Your mother has horrible timing," he said roughly.

Caroline could only shake her head breathlessly. She had just been saved from making what could only have been a horrible mistake. Really, what was wrong with her? It was like she lost all sense and reason when she was around Klaus. While she could no longer deny the attraction, the desire that seemed to crackle between them, she needed to keep reminding herself what a bad idea it was to get close to him. Distance. That is what they needed. Lots of distance. She eyed the lone chair in the room.

"Did you have a good day at school, Caroline?" Liz asked as she strode into the kitchen from the garage. Without waiting for an answer she tossed her purse on the counter and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

"Fine, mom," Caroline said tightly as she edged herself towards the chair and away from the couch where she would end up sitting with Klaus.

Her mother opened her water and took a long sip. "Are you all ready for prom tomorrow? I was putting together a security detail for the dance before I left work."

"As ready as I'll ever be. I think Rebekah and I have everything covered." Caroline stole a glance at Klaus, noticing the sudden stiffness in his posture. "I just need to make sure there aren't any wrinkles in my dress."

"Do you really think it is a good idea for Caroline to go to prom?" Klaus asked quietly. "Mystic Falls High has a reputation for disaster with their dances and won't the chaos of prom make it easy for her to get attacked again?"

Liz took another sip of her drink before answering. "I would prefer she not go, but since I know how impossible it would be to keep her home I am letting her. However, I am making sure there are a few officers there under the pretense of keeping tabs on underage drinking, but in reality they will be watching for any possible threats. Plus, with you there as her date I think she should be pretty safe."

"Klaus isn't —" Caroline started only to pause as she realized she was about to deny that Klaus was her date. Which wouldn't make any sense since he was supposed to be her boyfriend. "isn't interested in prom. He hates school dances," she finished.

"Which is why Caroline will be staying at home," Klaus said smoothly, flashing her a warning look.

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are," he bit out.

Caroline turned and stepped towards him. "I am co-chair of the prom committee that means that I am expected to be there to make sure everything runs smoothly."

"I am sure your other co-chair will not mind taking over your duties. In fact, if I know Rebekah at all I know she won't mind in the least," Klaus replied with an air of finality. Then as if the discussion was over and it had been completely dismissed from his mind he went and sat down on the couch.

Curling her fists with barely repressed rage, Caroline looked to her mother. "Mom!"

Liz shook her head. "Don't involve me in this. If Klaus doesn't go, then you don't go."

"That's not fair," Caroline argued. "I have to be there. Besides it has been almost a week since the attack. If they were planning something, they would have acted by now."

"Not necessarily," Klaus replied coolly. "They could be biding their time waiting for you to be out in the open. Like, for instance, a large event like a school prom."

Caroline fought the urge to stamp her foot and throw something at Klaus. "They won't dare try anything with Damon and Stefan there," she answered with a challenging look at him.

"With those two there, I can guarantee the dance will end in some kind of bloodshed," Klaus answered sarcastically.

"That does seem to happen a lot when those two are involved," Liz agreed. "Did you get your homework done?"

Caroline gave her mother a black look, making it clear she was not pleased with the change in subject. "Yes."

"Well, then if the two of you don't mind, I am headed to bed. I have another shift in a few hours and I would like to get some sleep," Liz said, finishing her bottled water.

"Of course," Klaus replied politely.

As Liz turned and headed towards her bedroom, Caroline whirled around to face Klaus. "How dare you keep me from prom?"

"You mean, how dare I keep you safe and save your life?" He asked, his voice ice cold.

"No one is going to attack me there The school will be full of people," she pleaded. "I have to be there."

Klaus shook his head. "No, you don't."

"You can't keep me locked in this house forever. I will sneak out."

"Try it, love."

The threat she heard in his voice was enough to make her want to scream. She knew she would never have a chance against him. He was too strong and powerful. If he wanted her here, there was no way she was getting away. Thinking hard, she sought to find a reason to convince him to let her go. As soon as the idea came to her she instantly dismissed it. She couldn't do it. Really, it would open even a bigger can of worms in her life, but how could she miss prom? There was her last time to shine as a normal teenager. Taking a deep steadying breath, she calmly sat down next to Klaus on the couch.

"Gotten past your temper tantrum," he said carelessly.

"Come to prom as my date," Caroline murmured, looking down at her hands that were now fisted in her skirt.

Klaus leaned back on the couch, a look of interest on his face. "Your date?"

Now that she had his attention she was almost afraid he would agree. "Yes."

"You want me to be your date," Klaus paused, his lips slowly sliding into a satisfied smirk. "You realize you will have to acknowledge that publicly? Elena, Bonnie, Damon and Stefan they will all know."

Caroline smoothed the wrinkles she had just made in her skirt. "I had thought maybe just a dance or two." She waited for an answer, but when he didn't speak she added, "in public, of course."

"So I am supposed to be satisfied with a few dances in return for making sure someone doesn't try and kill you at prom?" Klaus asked with a cynical tone.

"What more do you want?" Caroline turned to look at him, giving him her most irresistible pleading look, the one that always worked on her mother. "This means everything to me."

Klaus raised one brow sardonically. "Even if it gets you killed?"

"It won't. No one would dare with you there." Caroline knew he enjoyed her answer from the flash of pleasure in his eyes. She was so close to getting what she wanted, surely she could find a plausible reason for everyone as to why she was dancing with the enemy. "Please, Klaus. I will follow all your orders while I am there no matter how ridiculous I find them."

He sighed heavily before reaching out to cup the side of her face. "You will follow my orders? If I tell you we need to leave, you won't question it. You will just do as I say?"

"Absolutely."

"Fine, sweetheart. You win. You can have your prom."

With a squeal of delight she threw her arms around him without even thinking. He seemed surprised at the action as well because he waited a second before his hands lightly touched her back. This close once more to him, her eyes fluttered as she drank in his scent. Her body reacted immediately, her fingers itching to run through his hair, her lips parting to taste him and her skin tingling with yearning to be touched intimately. As if she had been burned, she pulled away from him. She couldn't bear being this close to him and not kiss or touch him and looking into his eyes as she sat back down next to him she knew that he knew it too.

"Don't think I don't know I have been played," Klaus said, his voice amused.

"I think I will head to bed," she replied uneasily. Looking away she attempted to rise, only to be pulled back down next to him.

"I thought we could watch a movie tonight?"

Caroline cocked her head considering the manner. She wasn't in the least bit tired, but the idea of watching a movie with Klaus, spending anymore time with him after what had almost happened to them earlier just seemed like asking for trouble.

"Since you are reading Fitzgerald I though we could watch _Midnight in Paris_. He was revising _The Great Gatsby_ during the time period this movie portrays."

"I don't know."

"I'll tell you all about the time I met him."

"Of course you met him," Caroline replied sarcastically. "Is there anyone famous you haven't met?"

Klaus grinned wolfishly at her. "You would be surprised. So will you watch the movie with me?"

She was about to refuse, but there was an odd note in Klaus's voice, almost as if he didn't want the night to end yet. It made her wonder if these long nights to himself were difficult for him. It couldn't be any fun to be stuck watching her without his usual amusements, not that she wanted to know what they were. Still, he tirelessly had given up his evenings to keep her safe. The least she could do she supposed was keep him company. "Sure, but I can't promise I won't be bored to death if this is all about Fitzgerald and Gatsby."

"It's not. It is also about Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Zelda Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Dali."

"Great, more people you once knew," Caroline said, rolling her eyes. Yet, while she acted annoyed, she had to admit it fascinated her that he knew so many incredible and famous people. She just didn't want him to know how much she liked listening to him talk.

Klaus flashed her a smile and stood up, retrieving a DVD case from the brown, scuffed leather messenger bag he had taken to bringing to her place. Standing in front of the television he grabbed the remote from the top and inserted the DVD into the player. Sitting back down next to her on the couch he turned on the television and pressed play.

As the movie started, Klaus wrapped his arm around her shoulders drawing her closer to him like a boyfriend on a date would. She wanted to protest, but it just felt so right and comfortable to be close to him she kept her mouth shut and tucked her head against his chest. They watched in silence until the main character stepped back into the twenties.

"I was there in Paris around this time. It was after the war and Rebekah and I were laying low in the artist's quarters hiding from Mikael. It was soon after that we migrated to America," Klaus said, his voice hardening when he mentioned the man who had once acted as his father.

"So this is when you met Fitzgerald?"

"Yes, it was. Like in the movie we met at Gertrude Stein's. She had the most incredible art collection; Renoir, Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso hung on her walls. She used to have Saturday salons where all the artists would meet. I used to go, of course, then I was considered just another struggling artist, albeit one with a comfortable allowance."

Caroline wondered just how much Klaus had fit in then. How he had slaked his thirst for blood and kept it a secret. From what she had seen since he came to Mystic Falls, death followed in his wake. Picasso came on screen with his mistress and Caroline could tell from the annoyed look on Klaus's face that he did not care much for the artist.

"His blue period was decent, but the cubism and neo-expressionism after that was almost an abomination," Klaus said, pointing at the screen and shaking his head.

"I don't think the art world agrees with you," Caroline answered with a small giggle.

"That is because they have no appreciate for the master's," Klaus replied loftily.

"You are an art snob!"

"No, I just know the difference between good art and what is nothing more then geometric shapes and slapdash technique."

"Only you would criticize Picasso," Caroline said, laughing again.

Klaus turned to look at her and when he spoke, his voice was tender. "I like it when you laugh."

Caroline glanced at him and the sweet smile on his face, made her want to laugh again if only to have him look always like that, as if evil had never touched him. "So tell me about when you met Fitzgerald?" she asked, not wishing to dwell on her thoughts.

"When I met him at Gertrude Stein's he was with his wife, Zelda, and she and Rebekah got along famously to such an extent we went to dinner with them a few times. He was very enjoyable if a bit susceptible to alcohol. Very passionate about his writing as he spoke of it in great detail. What I remember most is when the cover for The Great Gatsby was drawn he loved it and asked my opinion. I found it to be quite maudlin and told him so. At first he argued with me, but then he agreed. Only it was too late to for it to be changed."

Glancing at the cover of the book, sitting across from her on the end table, Caroline had to agree that she didn't care for the cover. The huge eyes, with what looked like a massive tear drop hovering above the bright lights made her want to cringe. "I don't care for it much either."

Klaus chuckled throatily. "Because you have taste, love."

The movie continued, moving further into the past to the 1890's and even Caroline recognized the Moulin Rogue, Toulouse- Lautrec and Degas. "This reminds me of the movie, _Moulin Rouge_ only they aren't breaking into song."

"I have never seen it," Klaus said, drawing his brows together. "It is a musical?"

"How can you not have seen it?" Caroline gasped. "It has everything and you can't help singing along and then crying when Satine dies. It is so epically tragic. You have to see it. We are so watching that this weekend."

"Epically tragic?"

"Yes, epically tragic," Caroline replied shortly, giving him a warning glance when be laughed heartily.

As the protagonist in the movie separated from his lover by deciding to return to the present time, rather then lose himself in the past, Caroline let out a sad sigh. Klaus reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. The sensation of his skin sliding against hers filled her with heat all the way to her toes and she curled even closer into Klaus. It was so comfortable, so safe in his arms so easy to just close her eyes and fall asleep.

As the movie ended, Klaus looked down at Caroline. Her dark lashes were like black lace against her pale cheeks, her red lips still swollen from his kisses and he wanted nothing more then to wake her with his mouth. Wisely he refrained, knowing how irritated she was when woken against her will. He had witnessed more then a few mornings where she had sworn and railed at her alarm clock. Sweeping a lock of hair from her face he wondered if she was dreaming again of her past. She had said nothing the last few days and, as much as he wanted to ask, he wisely stayed silent on the subject. At least he knew she had dreamed of her previous self and even though he was dying to tell her the truth he was afraid to damage her with his own selfishness. He had yet to forget how badly things had gone when he had shared one of his memories with her. He realized that the brain was a fragile instrument that needed to be respected and he was willing to be patient and wait for the truth to at last reveal itself naturally.

Gathering her tighter in his arms, he rose to carry her into her bedroom. Liz would not appreciate waking to the sight of her daughter asleep in his embrace. Even though she had become more accepting of him every day, he would be blind not to see the apprehension in her eyes when she thought he wasn't looking. Laying Caroline down on the bed, he couldn't help leaning in to press his lips against hers like a prince faced with his love, the sleeping princess. Like Sleeping Beauty, part of Caroline slept, hidden from himself and the world. He only wished he could wake her with a kiss like in the fairytales. Until then he would have to be satisfied with the progress he was making into becoming a part of her life. Tonight he had been so close to having her at last. She had offered herself wholeheartedly, only he had made the mistake of trying to claim her, a chance he had been denied hundreds of years ago. He shouldn't have been so foolish, but he wanted his mark on her, a brand that could never be removed. It was the closest a vampire came to marriage and eternal commitment and he wanted her to have it not only because of the protection it offered, but because he wanted the world to know once and for all that she was his. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see Liz regarding him from the doorway a conflicted expression on her face.

"You really care about her," she said as if the words surprised her.

"I do, very much."

She moved out of the way so he could pass her. "I hadn't thought a vampire could love."

"They can't," Klaus answered sharply, knowing what she really meant. That he couldn't love. "Don't ever think differently."

"Caroline can," Liz said softly.

Klaus looked in the direction of Caroline's bedroom. "I know."

"Don't hurt her."

"Never."

She stared at him long and hard as if she was evaluating the truth of his words. Finally she must have seen something in his face, in his eyes that gave her the reassurance she needed because she nodded and turned to leave.

Sitting back down on the couch, Klaus picked up the discarded sketchbook. Lifting up his pencil up from the floor he began to sketch, pouring all the emotion, everything he couldn't say to Caroline into his drawings of her until at last he was spent.

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I can't begin to tell you how much all your reviews mean to me. Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers: Bullet2tm, nicaha23, Matt-On-Matt, midnight shadow of darkness, StefanxKlaus14, cassava, QueenDMS, Ariel C. Rilmonn, ElisebethVE, lolaboots, SueMikaelson, meagainpauline, Clary101, DisneyRBD, klarolinelover, maevelin, redbudrose, Banana71588, moon2012, Lily94, Kelli83, Garota, LorenaLaufey, DreamsBeatReality, sillysun, epic sweetness712, Lazerlicious, Element Siren and Shanynde.

Also, I need to point out that it was Hemingway that disliked the cover for Fitzgerald's, _The Great Gatsby. _While initially angered, Fitzgerald eventually agreed with him.


	10. Chapter 9

Thanks to ElisebethVE for the incredible beta.

Thanks also to Banana71588 for her amazing help.

I couldn't have written this without them.

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Caroline twirled in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom, her full-skirted dress flaring over her ankles like a bell. As she spun, the crystals in her gown caught the light, casting rainbows on the walls. Stopping, she peered at her hairstyle, making sure it was still in place. To her satisfaction, her curls were still tamed and twisted into a tousled up-do. Smoothing her hands over the bodice of her dress, she smiled shakily at herself in the mirror. Tonight was the culmination of close to a school year's worth of work and the last big event for a senior outside of graduation itself. Aware of her school's track record when it came to dances, she could only hope that this one went smoothly. The only snag she foresaw was having Klaus there. While she had no intention of telling anyone he was her date, she was still going to need an explanation for dancing with him. That was something she still hadn't quite figured out.

"Caroline!" her mother called from the living room. "You're going to be late."

With one last look at herself in the mirror she stepped nervously out of her bedroom and into the living room where her mom and Klaus waited. At her approach, he stepped forward and her eyes swept over his tall, muscular figure dressed in an elegant black tuxedo with a white vest and tie. His hair was slightly mussed as if he had anxiously ran his fingers through it a few times, but his eyes didn't look apprehensive at all. They sparkled at her with what looked like joy. He looked so happy, his smile lighting up his face to flash his dimples that her own reservations about the evening were temporarily forgotten. Seeing him like this, like a typical young man pleased to take his girlfriend to prom, warmed her heart. It made her yearn for a different set of circumstances. A world where vampires didn't exist, one in which he truly was her boyfriend. Stealing a glance at her mother, she could tell from the heartbreaking look in Liz's eyes that she was thinking the very same thing. That this wasn't the life or the boyfriend her mother would have wanted for her, but she, like Caroline, was making the best of things.

"You look beautiful, Caroline," Klaus said, his voice a warm caress that went right to heart.

"Yes, she does," Liz echoed, a half-smile on her face.

Klaus stepped in front of her and Caroline noticed he carried a gardenia corsage for her wrist and a square black velvet box. Holding out her arm, she stood patiently while he solemnly slipped the flower on her wrist.

"Thank you. It's perfect," she said, lifting the bloom to inhale deeply of its fresh perfume.

"We need pictures. Don't go anywhere yet. I'm going to go get my camera," Liz said.

"Seriously mom," Caroline groaned with an embarrassed glance at Klaus. She couldn't believe her mom was actually going to try and get a picture of Klaus. Evil hybrids didn't have their pictures taken, did they? "Do we have to?"

"It's prom," Liz scolded. "Besides, I thought you loved documenting these kinds of things?"

It was true. Caroline had once been rabid about getting pictures of everything, all those events and milestones that marked her life, but that had all changed with her death.

Nervous at being left alone with Klaus, Caroline's gaze followed her mother as Liz moved to the bedroom where she kept her digital camera.

"I have something else for you," Klaus said and at his shy tone, Caroline turned her head to find his eyes resting on her. Her insides fluttered at the intensity of his gaze, her body tingling all over at the desire she saw there. Forcing her eyes away from his she focused on the black velvet box he was slowly opening for her. She gasped as the flash of diamonds blinded her. Resting on white satin was the bracelet she had thrown at him weeks earlier and above it a matching necklace. The chain duplicated the design of the bracelet, only it was thinner and more delicate and hanging from it was a magnificent teardrop diamond.

"Oh," she whispered.

He smiled, a wide smile of delight and pleasure at her reaction. "Turn around, love."

"No, I couldn't possibly."

"You can and you will," he purred. "While the bracelet might have belonged to another, the necklace was made new, only for you."

When she didn't turn around he circled around her, until he stood behind her. Caroline's legs weakened as his fingertips brushed the errant curls that had fallen from her hairstyle to tickle the back of her neck. As the cold metal slid around her neck, the teardrop diamond falling lightly between her breasts she shivered. She had never worn anything so breathtaking, so extravagant, something that was made only for her. She ran her fingertips over the diamonds and while she knew she couldn't possibly accept them, maybe she could pretend, at least for one night that they really were hers. She felt it then, the press of his lips on the back of her neck and she swayed lightly on her feet. While the kiss was sweet, his mouth was hot and she immediately pictured him kissing her, parting her lips with his tongue. Locking her legs together to keep from falling over, she forced herself not to faint.

Klaus moved to face her and taking the bracelet from the box he clasped it around her other wrist. Instead of glancing down, she stared into his eyes, drinking in their beauty, until she found herself sinking into them.

Thankfully, her mother quickly emerged with her digital camera and waving her hand she signaled for them to face her. "Smile," she encouraged.

Caroline turned to Klaus fully expecting him to protest, but he smiled at her instead his arm snaking around her and pulling her next to him. Left with no other choice, Caroline smiled for the camera. As the flash went off she wondered where she would be when she looked at this picture twenty, fifty, a hundred years from now. Would she have fond memories of this time or would life have treated her harshly? She didn't dare think of where Klaus would stand in all of this. She couldn't imagine his obsession with her lasting more then a year or two at the most. He would move on from her at some point, once he realized how perfectly boring and ordinary she was. The thought for some reason deeply saddened her and Klaus must have sensed it because he released her waist and turning to face her he took her hands in his.

"Sweetheart?"

She felt tears come to her eyes at his tender concern for her and she forcefully blinked them away. This was her prom, her big day and she was not going to cry, not over Klaus. "I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed."

The lines of tension in his face relaxed and he pressed her hands to his lips, all the while regarding her though gentle eyes. She forced a smile for him, knowing if she didn't he would probably find a way to force the truth out of her and that was a conversation she did not want to have.

"Shall we go then?" Klaus asked, his voice eager as if he was excited to get to the dance.

"Have a good time." Liz wrapped her arms around Caroline for a quick hug. Then she turned her sharp gaze to Klaus, her voice becoming stern, "Keep her safe. I will have a couple of officers posted at the school to keep an eye on things and as soon as I have some dinner I will be joining them. Caroline, I need you to be careful."

"We will," Caroline promised as Klaus opened the front door for her. Stepping outside in the cool evening air she was startled to find a large black stretch limo waiting. "You rented a limousine?"

"I bought a limousine," Klaus corrected.

"Seriously?" Of course he did. Why bother to rent when one could own? She almost giggled at the poor hybrid that had to track the thing down and buy it. Where exactly did one go to get one?

Klaus took her hand in his. "Isn't that what boyfriends do at prom? Get a limousine?"

"Well, yes…but…"

"But what?" He asked with a slight frown.

Caroline shook her head. "I just never expected you to take this so seriously."

Turning to look at her, he let of her hand and cupped her cheek tenderly. "As Rebekah keeps telling me, this is a night every young girl remembers for the rest of her life and I want you to have everything. I want it to be perfect for you."

There it was again, that magical fluttering deep within her chest. "Klaus, you didn't have to."

"Yes, I did," he said with a smile, his voice solemn. "Shall we?" Touching her lower back he led her towards the waiting limousine.

Immediately the black suited chauffer, who Caroline instantly recognized as one of his hybrids opened the limo door for them. Carefully squishing her full-skirted gown, she climbed in and seated herself on the leather bench seat. Klaus sat next to her and then the car door was softly closed and they were alone. Unsure of what to say, how to act, Caroline attempted to smooth the wrinkles in her gown. Because of the fullness of her skirt, there was no way to sit without it touching Klaus in some way. He didn't seem to mind in the least and when he moved next to her, his hard thigh hitting hers as he put his arm around her, her dress flowed over his leg.

"I see you forced one of your hybrid servants into service tonight," Caroline said at last.

"I'll have you know his name is Eric."

"You know his name?"

Klaus turned to look at her a devilish sparkle in his eyes. "Why so surprised? I believe it was you who told me I needed to stop thinking of them as pawns."

"I did, but I never expected you to listen."

"I always listen to you, love. I may not always agree or do as you say, but I always listen."

Caroline smiled tremulously up at him. She got so angry and frustrated at times with his manipulation that she had always assumed he dismissed her protests and her feelings. Yet, here was proof that he did listen to her, that he cared what she thought about things. This new revelation touched her and her heart swelled painfully. So much of her life she had felt overlooked and as if nobody listened or took her seriously, but to her surprise out of everyone in the world it was Klaus who did. He who was everything she was supposed to hate and despise. Why did he have to keep saying and doing things that made her want to care for him, forget the ugliness that lay between them? With a sigh, she forced her gaze from his and looked around the interior of the limousine.

"Is that champagne?" She asked, finally noticing the chilling bottle that sat in a holder.

"Yes. Would you like some? It is from an excellent year. 1927, I believe from a little region near —." At his words Caroline rolled her eyes and he stopped speaking and laughed.

"I would love some," she said once he stopped laughing. In fact, she was dying for a glass. Looking out the window she could see they were getting closer to the school and her nerves were quickly fraying.

Klaus moved to open the bottle and as it popped the champagne fizzed over the opening and Caroline squealed, quickly flipping her dress away from the falling alcohol. Laughing, Klaus poured the liquid into two crystal flutes and handed her one. Not even tasting the bubbly liquid, Caroline drained it in several gulps and handed her glass back for a refill. Klaus arched a brow, but said nothing as he gave her back the glass filled to the brim. The champagne must have been extremely potent because bubbles fizzed through her all the way to her toes. As she sipped more, the liquid warmth spread through though her entire body.

"I know I laugh at you, but you do have excellent taste," Caroline said as she drank again from her crystal flute. Finishing the last of the champagne she handed the glass back to Klaus.

Bowing his head slightly at the compliment, Klaus took the glass back, but instead of refilling it he set it back down next to the bottle of champagne. "Yes, I do," he rasped, settling down next to her on the seat. Leaning in he placed a kiss to her bare shoulder.

She knew he wasn't talking about the alcohol. Not when his lips were tracing patterns on her skin.

"Klaus…" she began, only to tremble when he slid his fingertips under her diamond necklace to gently tug her closer to him. She turned her head to face him and the passion in his eyes kindled a fire low in her belly.

"Shhhh."

She opened her mouth to speak again, only to have him swoop down and press his lips to hers. Caroline thought about turning her head, moving away, but then with a little sigh she gave in, kissing him back. Their mouths fused and her fingers against her own volition twined into the curls at the back of his head pressing him even deeper into the kiss. She could taste the champagne in his mouth and she eagerly drank it in. Surrendering to her desire, she felt as if he lifted his mouth from hers, stopped kissing her she would surely die.

The limousine smoothly came to a stop, the purring of the engine silenced as Eric shut the motor off. Pulling her mouth from Klaus's, Caroline buried her head in the crook of his neck for only a minute, but it was long enough for him to wrap his arms around her. Inhaling lightly of his familiar and soothing scent, she took comfort in his embrace, luxuriating in it before she had to face the stress of prom. She still had no idea how she was going to explain his presence, their dances to Elena, Bonnie, everyone. Part of her wanted to turn around and go right back home, but she was not Miss Mystic Falls for nothing. She would figure this out.

"Why must we always be cursed with bad timing?" Klaus grumbled as Eric opened the door to the car. With a frustrated sigh he released her and climbed out of the limousine. She slid over the seat, taking his hand to rise and step out unto the sidewalk of Mystic Fall's High. She noticed at once that thankfully someone had taken care of laying out the red carpet that led into the school. Probably Rebekah since she had planned on getting there early. In fact, she had nicely offered to take over much of the prom duties for the night and with Klaus for a watchdog Caroline had little choice but to give in.

He offered her his arm like a courtly gentleman from the past and she looked furtively around the school grounds to see who might be watching. It seemed they had arrived just late enough that most of the couples had already entered the school, but still Caroline hesitated to take his arm. She had hoped to sneak inside with him through a side door, but it seemed he had other ideas. He wanted to arrive together hand in hand like any other couple.

"Love?"

Caroline turned to look at him and with one glance she could tell that he was very much aware of her reservations. The smile that had once lit up his face was fading with every second she hesitated to take his arm. She was hurting him and the pain this knowledge brought cut deep inside her soul. So she did the only thing she could do to stop the pain, she smiled and laid her hand lightly on his arm. At the gesture, the shadows left his face, his eyes brightening and blinding her with his happiness. Together they walked up the red carpet and into the school.

Silver streamers, white Christmas tree lights and rose petals led the way into the gymnasium where the dance was being held. While Caroline had had helped lay them out and arrange them with Rebekah earlier that morning, it all looked so much better with the lights dimmed and the dark night. Just before entering the gymnasium Caroline paused at the entrance. It had all turned out so beautiful that it was hard to believe that just twenty-four hours ago the room had hosted gym classes. On the dance floor, white twinkling lights hung from the ceiling and more were draped in the branches of trees that had been loaned to them from the local nursery. It gave the whole dance area an enchanted forest look and feel. In one-corner bouquets of roses rested on white linen tables covered with refreshments and in the other a photographer was taking pictures of couples in front of a silver Cinderella pumpkin coach made courtesy of the art department.

"It all looks wonderful," Klaus leaned down to tell her, his voice rising above the music.

Caroline flashed him a nervous smile as she searched the room for her friends. Thankfully Elena didn't seem to have noticed her arrival as she was on the dance floor in Stefan's arms. Finding her there, it was easy to locate Damon skulking around at the edge of the dancing couples his gaze firmly fixed on Elena. Bonnie was also there dancing with someone Caroline didn't recognize. She must have found a date outside of the school population, but why hadn't she mentioned it? Then again, Caroline rationalized she hadn't exactly been around much lately for Bonnie to confide in.

"Let's get a drink," she said. With Klaus next to her, she wanted to get as far away from her friends as she could.

"Here?"

At the sarcastic tone in his voice, she gave him an exasperated look. "I know it isn't champagne from the twenties, but the high school cafeteria does make a decent fruit punch and if we are lucky someone will have spiked it already."

Letting go of his arm, she walked towards the refreshment table in the far corner of the room where the glass punch bowl sat. She didn't bother to even look to see if he was following, she already knew he was. Moving through a small crowd of people she accepted compliments and greeted acquaintances until she had reached the refreshment table. Filling a glass cup with the bright red liquid she handed it to Klaus. He stared at it mockingly for a long moment before taking it. Filling a cup for herself, she took a drink as he did.

"So much for your mother's effective police force. They can't even protect the punch from getting spiked," Klaus said dryly.

"I know. The funny thing is it happens every year and they never catch who does it," Caroline said with a giggle. Taking another drink of the sweet substance, she tried to focus on the burning alcohol instead of her racing nerves.

A pair of arms surrounded her in a quick hug and Caroline almost choked on her drink. "Rebekah?"

"Isn't is all so perfect?" Rebekah asked joyously. "Someone even tampered with the punch. Prom is just like I imagined it would be."

"I'm glad?" Caroline offered faintly.

"Doesn't it all look gorgeous?" Rebekah gave Caroline's shoulder an enthusiastic little squeeze. "No one would believe the mess it all was this morning."

Caroline didn't even want to think about the broken pieces of tree litter everywhere, the hundred boxes of white Christmas tree lights, rolls of streamers and all the other bits that had gone into decorating. It was amazing what she, Rebekah and the rest of the prom committee had pulled off. "It looks amazing. We did good."

At her emphasis of the word, we, Rebekah grinned. "Yes, we make a good team. This was much better then last year's prom, I bet," the girl couldn't help but add.

"Maybe," she returned with a smile. While last year's prom had been nice, she was willing to concede that this year's had by far outshone last years. As much as she didn't want to admit it, part of that was due to Rebekah. She had gone above and beyond with helping out not only with her time, but her ideas as well. Having been so distracted with Klaus and then placed under house arrest by him, Caroline didn't know how she would have pulled it off without her.

"Nik," Rebekah squealed, like she had suddenly noticed her brother standing next to Caroline. Stepping over to him, she straightened his bow tie. "Doesn't he look handsome?" she asked with a sly smile at Caroline.

"Bekah," he warned lightly as heat flooded Caroline's face.

She pouted slightly before speaking again, "Don't you think you should take Caroline out for a spin on the dance floor?"

Klaus smiled gratefully at his sister before holding his hand out for Caroline to take. "What do you say, love?"

"My brother dances beautifully," Rebekah said with a goading look a Caroline.

She knew he did. Caroline still dreamed of, still thought of the dance they had shared that night on his island. He had a way of dancing with her that made the whole world disappear until it was just the two of them, limbs gracefully coming together in slow movements. Never before had dancing been such an erotic act for her.

Completely misreading her hesitation, Rebekah spoke up, "Go ahead, Caroline. Relax and have fun. I will take care of anything that comes up."

What choice did she have with Klaus holding out his hand, a dimpled smile on his face and Rebekah looking happily at them like a proud parent? She could barely manage one Original sibling and with two it was impossible. So she took Klaus's hand and let him walk her to the dance floor.

It was dark there, the only light coming in flashes from the spinning disco ball attached to the ceiling and the twinkling Christmas tree lights. With a small tug on her hand, Klaus spun her into his arms. His fingertips glided down her spine to settle at her lower back and she had no choice but to rest her palms on his shoulders. Slowly they began to move to the dance music together. Instead of looking into his face, Caroline focused steadfastly on his white bow tie.

"My eyes are further up," Klaus said with a chuckle.

"I know that," she retorted, but she didn't look up.

"Look at me, Caroline." While the words were a command, his tone was gentle.

With a small sigh, she lifted her gaze to his face. He stared back at her, his dark blue eyes shadowed with some emotion she didn't want to contemplate.

"Caroline —"

Afraid of what he might say, what she wasn't ready to hear, Caroline pressed a finger to his lips to silence him. At the touch, he lightly kissed her fingertip, gently suckling the thin delicate skin into his mouth. As he flicked his tongue against her heated flesh, tingles of lust and desire spread wildly through her body.

"Don't," she practically moaned as she pulled her finger from his mouth.

"Let me speak, love."

She shook her head. Whatever he was going to say, right now was not the time for it. Not when they were in public, just couples away from Elena, Stefan, Bonnie and Damon.

Klaus chuckled again before speaking up, "I just wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" She asked weakly.

"For giving Rebekah the prom she always wanted and for letting me be a part of yours."

"Oh," Caroline breathed, momentarily left speechless.

"I know this isn't probably what you planned or who you expected to be with this night," Klaus paused a muscle in his jaw tensing briefly and Caroline knew he was thinking about Tyler, "but I want you to know that there isn't any other place I would rather be then here with you."

Unable to think of what to say she could only focus on how she felt. How his words kindled a fire deep inside of her, one that filled her warmth and light until she felt as if she glowed as bright as the sun.

Klaus seemed to read her mind because he pulled her tighter into his arms and her head fell to naturally lie against his chest. Resting her cheek against where his heart had once beat she imagined she could still hear the rhythmic vibrations as they slowly swayed in time with the music. Closing her eyes, she let her friends, the gym, prom, everything fall away until there was nothing but the two of them together. Time itself seemed to stand still and Caroline wanted it to stay that way forever.

Slowly the intimate, crooning song gave way to another number and looking up Caroline was surprised to see two pairs of horrified eyes on her.

"Caroline?" Elena asked, a look of shock on her face as if she had just witnessed a drive by shooting.

Standing frozen in Klaus's arms, Caroline tried to come up with something to say, but before she had a chance, Bonnie was yanking on her arm. "We need to talk," her friend said sternly. "Bathroom, now!"

At Bonnie's demand, Caroline untangled herself from Klaus's arms. "I don't need to go to the bathroom. Vampires…we don't…" she trailed off weakly.

"Well, I do and you are coming with," Bonnie retorted sternly.

"Caroline," Klaus growled, reaching for her hand. "You don't have to go anywhere."

"I do," she answered, hoping that by saying that aloud it would make it easier to accept. It didn't. Still, she fixed a smile on her face in hopes it would soothe him as she answered him, "I will be right back."

He looked like he wanted to argue with her and rip some heads off, but wisely he just nodded curtly.

She let Bonnie drag her to the bathroom, Elena in tow, deciding not to say anything until they were out of earshot of most of prom. As they entered the ladies restroom, Caroline blinked at the harsh blinding yellow lights.

"Tell me I didn't just see you practically humping Klaus on the dance floor," Bonnie practically hissed at her.

"You didn't," Caroline shot back at her.

"Then what do you call it?"

"Dancing, Bonnie. I was dancing with him."

Bonnie opened her mouth to say something further, only to be silenced by a soft touch on her shoulder from Elena.

"What Bonnie means is we are concerned as to why you are dancing with Klaus? Did he do something to you? Hurt you?"

Caroline couldn't help but laugh. She almost wished he had. That would make this all so much easier, but she knew Klaus would do just about anything rather then hurt her. He had proven it over and over again.

Elena exchanged worried looks with Bonnie before going over to squeeze Caroline's hand. "It's okay. You can tell us."

"Klaus didn't do anything to me, " she said once her laughter had dissipated. "I was just dancing with him."

"That wasn't just dancing," Bonnie retorted with a bitter tone.

"But why?" Elena asked, her brows furrowing together in puzzlement. "Why would you dance with him?"

Why would she dance with him? Caroline wanted to know why too. Why she couldn't keep him at arms length anymore and shut him out. Why she couldn't begin to tell the truth to herself about her feelings for him let alone her own friends. Unsure of what to answer anymore, what lie she could even tell, she decided to tell the truth. "He's my date."

Bonnie and Caroline stared at her, their mouths agape as if she had just drained someone here in the ladies restroom right in front of them. Clearing her throat, Elena stepped over to peer into Caroline's eye's.

"I am not being compelled," Caroline grumbled with annoyance as she swatted her friend away. "Why do you always do that?"

"You can't blame her for wanting to check," Bonnie said coldly. "Since we seem to be the only ones who remember what Klaus is capable of?"

"You think I don't remember?" Caroline protested her voice almost wild. "I remember everything he has ever done." What she failed to mention was how the sweet memories of the last few weeks with him were starting to overshadow even the most horrific of his deeds.

Bonnie shook her head violently, sending her crystal chandelier earrings swinging. "They why are you with him?"

"It is just a dance."

"Not to you. This is prom," Bonnie answered back making air quotes with her fingertips.

Elena looked up at her with her big doe eyes. "This isn't like you, Care."

At her friends use of her nickname something broke in Caroline. "Don't you think that maybe I am doing this for everyone, for all of you? If I spend time with him, I can distract him, keep all of you safe. For some reason, I don't completely understand, he fancies me. And because of this weakness he is willing to do just about anything to spend time with me and that includes leaving all of you alone."

At her outburst Bonnie and Elena stared back at her once more with matching shocked expressions on their faces.

"I know, right?" Caroline laughed harshly. "Who would think the most evil hybrid in the world would fall for me? It's crazy, right?"

Elena threw her arms around Caroline. "It's not crazy at all. You are the kindest, sweetest person I know. How could he not fall for you?"

"So kind and sweet she has attracted our biggest threat," Bonnie mused.

"Thanks, Elena," Caroline murmured and glancing over at Bonnie she was disturbed by the look she saw in the other girl's eyes.

"I don't like this. I don't want you spending time with him to protect us, " Elena said as Caroline moved out of her embrace. "While, I do appreciate it…no one wants you to sacrifice your life for our safety. "

"I really don't mind," Caroline rushed to reassure her. While she had partially told them the truth she didn't need them to know that she actually enjoyed spending time with him and that she didn't really have a choice anyway. There was still the little matter of the attack on her life that if she had her way they would never find out about. "And if I don't get back out there soon I know Klaus will come in here looking for me."

"From the way he was looking at you he probably would," Elena replied with a somber tone.

Caroline headed towards the door, only to be stopped by Elena grabbing her hand. "Promise me you will be careful? That you will run to us if he starts getting out of hand?"

She wanted to roll her eyes at her friend's words. She had nothing to fear from Klaus. Her only fear came from her own ability to control her feelings for him when they were alone. "I promise."

Walking out of the restroom she was instantly confronted by Klaus, every line and ridge in his body tight with tension, but at her reassuring smile he relaxed. "Everything settled?"

"As much as it can be." Which she hoped he didn't realize meant that nothing had been in the least.

"So, no more sneaking around?" He asked, his voice his lips curling into a smirk.

"Something like that," she said non-committedly.

He held out his hand for her. "Then dance with me."

Caroline placed her palm against his, curling her fingers into his as they walked back to the dance floor. She easily fell into his arms. It was like she now belonged there.

"Mind if I cut in?"

Without waiting for an answer, Damon twirled her into his arms.

"Get your hands of her," Klaus demanded in a low tone that set chills running up and down Caroline's spine.

"Why? Caroline promised me a dance at her prom. I'm just collecting," Damon said, a look of mischief on his face.

Golden fire leapt in Klaus's eyes and he advanced toward her and Damon like a wild beast ready to erupt into violence at the slightest provocation.

Caroline had only one choice. Damon obviously was itching to cause a scene and aggravate Klaus and she wasn't about to let that happen. "Klaus, it's fine. I did promise him a dance," she lied giving Damon her coldest look to which he only grinned.

Klaus looked from her to Damon with irritation almost as if he was displeased he didn't have a reason to torture the other vampire.

Advancing on Damon, Klaus leaned down to whisper something in his ear. Caroline couldn't hear what was said, but it had to be a threat of some kind because if possible the vampire became almost pale for a moment. Then with a slight shake of his head a grin appeared once more on Damon's face.

"Would you mind finding someone else to dance with? We don't need an audience," Damon said, making a shooing gesture with his fingertips at Klaus.

Beyond annoyed, and knowing that Damon continuing to run his mouth was only going to escalate into violence that she was going to have to deal with, Caroline stepped on his foot, digging the pointed heel of her shoe into his toes.

"Caroline!" Damon yelped, stumbling a bit on his feet before he was able to regain his balance.

Looking over at Klaus, Caroline was pleased to see a look of devilish glee in his eyes at her actions. Knowing his good mood wouldn't last if he continued to stand there staring at them she searched the room for Rebekah. Finding her in what looked like an animated conversation with several other girls, Caroline was reluctant to set Klaus on her, but he needed a distraction so she could figure out what Damon wanted and get this stupid dance over with. Just as she was about to suggest he go check on his sister, Stefan approached them.

"If I could have a word with you?" Stefan asked Klaus politely.

"So now you want to talk to me, old friend?" Klaus replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Caroline would have to be dumb and blind not to realize that Stefan and Damon were up to something. She started to pull out of Damon's embrace, but the vampire held fast and pulled her farther into the crowd of dancers.

"They're just going to have a little conversation. Kind of like us," Damon said with a smirk.

"Make it fast then, Damon. I have things to do."

Damon ignored her and glanced down at the necklace that hung from Caroline's neck. "Platinum and diamonds? Could that be from the new boyfriend?"

"It's just for a loan for the night," Caroline answered defensively. "And he is not my boyfriend."

"With the way you two were cozying up to each other tonight I am going to have argue differently." Damon let go of one of her hands to twirl her around before swinging her once more back into his arms. "Which leads me to having to congratulate you on a job well done. When I asked you to get close to Klaus I never expected you to be so successful. Have you learned anything that we can actually use?"

"No," Caroline said giving him her stoniest stare.

Damon shrugged with nonchalant elegance. "Pity."

Caroline glanced out past the crowd to find Klaus staring at her and Damon and a tremor slid over her at the look of rage in the hybrid's eyes. Stefan was talking to him, a serious expression on his face, but Klaus didn't seem to be paying any attention to him at all. They way he was looking at her, at Damon, filled her with unease. He looked like he was seconds away from charging unto to the dance floor and mauling the vampire to death. Thankfully, Rebekah seemed to have noticed the small scene because she walked over to Klaus and with a few words she managed to drag him off towards the refreshment table.

"The question now is can you still be trusted to do what is best for Elena?" Damon asked cruelly.

She whipped her head around to face the vampire. "How can you even ask me that?"

"Maybe because you are getting a little to chummy with our Original family. Elena says you and Rebekah are practically like BFF'S," Damon said, with an exaggerated flutter of his eyelashes. "And Klaus practically lives with you now and even my dear Liz won't have a bad word said about him. Then there is the whole Vampire Survivor Fund. What is he trying to do? Buy the whole town off?"

"You talked to my mother? About Klaus?"

"How else am I supposed to find out what is going on?" Damon asked petulantly. "It's not like I can even get close to you. You do realize he has every hybrid in town practically guarding you now."

Shaking her head, Caroline thought how best to answer Damon. She could deny knowing about the hybrid army's existence in her life, but then it would make her look like a total airhead. "Klaus gets very protective of the things he considers his."

"And, are you his now?"

Caroline flushed with anger at the sneer she heard in Damon's voice. "Of course not."

With an air of suspicion, Damon studied her, looking deeply into her eyes for a long moment as if he was trying to convince himself that she told the truth. "You wouldn't lie to me would you, Blondie? This is Elena's life that is at stake here."

"How dare you? I would do anything for Elena," Caroline bit out.

"Would you? I'm starting to wonder."

Bristling with anger at the mistrust she heard in his tone, Caroline dug her nails into his shoulders until he flinched. "Seriously? You're questioning my loyalty to Elena?"

"It's hard not to when I find you draped all over him," Damon said with a sound of disgust.

"Which I'm doing to help protect Elena," she snapped "Remember?" She was so upset, but she couldn't help but wonder who she was more angry at? Damon or herself for the little lies she kept needing to tell herself to stay sane, to keep it all together.

Damon narrowed his eyes at her, staring hard at her again until at last he nodded like he had made a decision. "I might have managed to get my hands on some more white oak stakes."

Caroline felt her heart freeze in her chest. "How is that possible?"

"Rebekah was sniffing around looking for old records and I put two and two together and now I have a whole collection of them."

"And you want to kill Klaus?" Caroline said thickly.

Damon shook his head. "No, I want you to kill him."

It hurt. Her heart. Oh God, did it hurt.

"It has to be done. He can't keep using Elena like this. Draining a pint every month. This is no life for her. And this hybrid army of his, it needs to be stopped."

He was right. Never had Damon spoken truer words. It couldn't continue like this forever and she would be blind to think otherwise. Klaus would use Elena until the day she died and there were her children and her children's children to think of. But what of Caroline's heart? The pain was practically unbearable. It was as raw as if it had been sliced into hundreds of tiny pieces.

At her silence, Damon moved his palm from her lower back to grasp her hand. "Think of Elena. Her future, her happiness. You're the only one who can get close to him, he will never see it coming."

Caroline was going to choke on the tears she wouldn't allow herself to cry. "I — I can't."

"You can." Was that a hint of sympathy Caroline saw in his eyes as he squeezed her hand tightly? "She needs you."

Nodding her head, Caroline bit her bottom lip so hard she could taste blood. She loved Elena with her whole heart. They were practically sisters. She had been there with Caroline through everything, never letting anything stand in the way of their friendship. She couldn't let her lead the life Klaus meant for her. Shutting her eyes tightly she thought of him, the deaths he had caused since he came to town, the blood that dripped from his hands. How many innocents would she save if she took him out? She didn't let herself think of his caresses, his kisses, the way he looked at her with such tenderness and especially not how she felt like when she was with him she belonged at last.

"Don't fail us now."

Once more Caroline nodded her head. She couldn't even bear to say the words aloud. To speak of the crime she was about to commit.

"I'll get a few stakes to you and then you will know when the time was right," Damon said with such solemnity Caroline wondered if he secretly knew her anguish.

Taking a deep breath she didn't need, it stung as it stuck in her lungs. She tried to exhale only to find that she couldn't. Shooting pains cut through her chest and she knew she was suffocating. It had to be another panic attack. She needed to get out of there and away from Damon. "I need some air," she somehow managed to gasp out. Pulling her hand from his, she moved out of his arms.

Stumbling off the dance floor she heard Damon call after her, "God help you if you betray her."

Making her way out of the gym, she leaned against a row of lockers taking gulping breaths of air she didn't actually need. Oh, God, she was going to be sick. Shutting her eyes she tried to will her weakness away. At the clicking of heels on the concrete floor her lids flew open.

"Bonnie," she greeted weakly. "I was just taking a break from all the noise." Caroline was surprised to see that her friend was carrying her purse and she had her coat on. "Are you leaving already?"

"I think it's time."

Caroline furrowed her brow. "It's still early yet."

Bonnie moved closer to her, her long skirts gracefully flowing around her ankles. "He really does love you."

"What?"

"Well, as much as a monster like him can," she said with a crooked smile.

"Infatuation and obsession are more his style," Caroline grumbled.

Bonnie leaned against the locker next to Caroline. "He has been luckier then he ever deserved. Such as him was made to walk the ages with the misery of never finding happiness. Seeking something to fill the hole inside and always coming up empty." Her face scrunched up like she tasted something sour. "Not finding love and breaking the curse."

At the strange tone in her friend's voice, Caroline turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Bonnie said with small shake of her head. ""I'm just tired. I really should head out and say goodbye to Elena. Walk with me?"

"Um sure," she said even though the last thing Caroline wanted was to go back to the gym where Klaus awaited her. The thought of seeing him now, knowing what she was going to have to do, filled her with horror. She didn't know how she was going to be able to face him, to look him in the eye. Just thinking about it made her want to throw her arms around him and confess everything. Realizing Bonnie was staring at her weirdly, clearly waiting for to move, Caroline quickly stepped past her towards the gym.

There was a whoosh of air from behind her and Caroline started to turn, her vampire speed kicking it. Then there was pain. So much pain as what could only be a wooden stake narrowly missed her heart. In shock, Caroline looked down at her front and saw the point of it sticking out just to the left of her heart. It had gone right through from her back and was now entirely embedded deep inside her. Blood slowly dripped down the front of her gown, the dark red staining the pure white of her dress. Slowly, she finished turning around to face her attacker.

"You were supposed to die."

"Bonnie?" Caroline cried as she started to crumple to her knees.

"No," she replied with a cold, cruel smile.

Caroline reached up to the stake, trying to wrench it from her body, only to find it almost impossible to take out. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't really matter who I am." Bonnie who was not Bonnie opened her purse to pull out another stake. "I am sorry that you have to suffer. I meant it to be painless, but you moved too fast."

"Bonnie, stop. This isn't you," Caroline choked out as blood filled her mouth.

"You were never supposed to be born again," the stranger inside Bonnie stated with a rueful tone. "That was never part of the plan. At your loss, Niklaus was supposed to suffer empty and broken for an eternity."

What little blood was left in Caroline drained from her face only to bubble and leak from the wound in her chest. She was getting so weak. She had to get away, but her legs just wouldn't move. An image floated by in her mind, hazy as if it was wrapped in a wisp of smoke. She stood surrounded by roses in a garden as Klaus leaned in to kiss her. _My True Love Hath My Heart_. "No," she whispered. There was a roar of footsteps and shouting and Caroline felt familiar arms encircle her.

"Caroline? Love? Don't leave me now!"

There was pressure in her chest and then with a popping sound the stake was pulled from her chest. More blood flowed, until there was a red waterfall of it from the bodice to the hem of her gown. Caroline once more felt those comfortable arms around her and then having come home she let her head fall as she at last let the darkness take over.

"Drink, dammit, Caroline."

A smell of heaven, of spicy wine, roses and dances in the rain tickled her nostrils and she obediently opened her mouth. Blood poured inside of her, tantalizing her tongue and taste buds, but it hurt to swallow. So she allowed it to fill her mouth, gently coaxing it down her throat. It filled her, bubbling with warmth through her system like the champagne she had drunk earlier. With each swallow, she felt her strength returning and her clarity restored. She whimpered as the source of such wonder was pulled away from her mouth.

Opening her eyes, she found herself on the floor in Klaus's lap, his arms tightly around her. Noticing the multitude of feet surrounding her she lifted her gaze to find her friends staring at her. Facing her were alternating looks of shock and horror and she could only imagine what her friends were thinking to find her like this, to see her eagerly sucking down Klaus's blood.

"Love?" A tender kiss of relief was pressed to the top of her head.

Caroline ignored it to focus on her attacker. "Bonnie?" Caroline croaked, noticing at once that tears were streaming down her friend's face. Rebekah held Bonnie's arms captive and she saw that bruises were already blossoming on her skin underneath the Original's fingers.

"Don't worry. The witch will be dead by morning," Klaus murmured silkily and the deadly softness in his tone scared Caroline more then if he had ranted and raved.

"I'm so sorry, Caroline. I don't know what happened," Bonnie said her voice shaking.

Elena stepped forward to glare at Klaus. "Bonnie would never do something like this."

"You will not touch, her." Caroline with the weakness of a kitten attempted to crawl out of Klaus's arms, but he held her fast. "She wasn't herself. There was someone else inside her."

"Who?" Klaus asked Caroline with disbelief.

"I don't know, but you have to believe me. It wasn't her and if you touch her…" Caroline didn't bother to finish the sentence. She knew he would understand her threat and she was so very tired.

Klaus stood up with Caroline in his arms, the hem of her gown trailing to the tops of his black, patent leather shoes. "I am taking Caroline home." He shot Bonnie a malicious look that had the witch cringing. "I will deal with you later."

"Down boy," Damon drawled. "You won't touch her."

"She tried to kill Caroline. You would let her go free after that?" Klaus demanded, his voice like ice.

Stefan stepped in front of Bonnie protectively. "You heard her. It wasn't Bonnie."

"You're not taking Caroline anywhere," Elena argued, lifting her chin stubbornly. "She is coming with us."

"She needs more blood," Rebekah stated matter-of-factly.

Caroline did need more blood. While Klaus's blood had helped, he hadn't let her drink her fill. She was still ravenous and if she was going to heal she was going to need a lot more and she certainly didn't want them to witness her eating. It was bad enough they had to see her like this, Klaus's blood staining her lips.

Elena turned her glare on the Original. "We can get her blood bags."

"Nik's blood is more potent and will heal her faster," Rebekah retorted.

"No one is taking her from me," Klaus growled, his irises beginning to glow yellow. "Touch her and die."

Stefan laid a gentle hand on Elena's shoulder. "I think it is best we let her go with him. He will take care of her."

"How do we know that? Who knows what he will do to her? Look at her. She is so weak she can barely hold her head up," Elena said, her voice raising an octave in pitch.

"Why don't you ask Caroline what she wants?" Rebekah asked dryly.

Elena moved towards Caroline, only to be stopped by Stefan as if he was worried what Klaus would do if she got to close. "What do you want, Care? Do you want to go home with him or with us?"

Caroline was so very tired and so very comfortable right where she was. She felt safe and warm, like a small child tucked snugly up in warm blankets on a cold night. The thought of leaving Klaus's arms, not having his blood again was almost unbearable. She opened her mouth to speak only to find it almost impossible to find her voice. So with a tired sigh, she let her head fall back against Klaus's chest.

"I think she is perfectly content with Klaus," Stefan answered for Caroline. "Let him take her home."

"If you hurt her, we will come for you," Elena threatened the hybrid.

It was Rebekah's voice Caroline heard last as Klaus carried her through the darkened hallways of the school out to where she assumed the limousine was waiting.

"My brother would never hurt a hair on that girl's head."

"Niklaus," Caroline whispered, barely noticing Klaus's sharp intake of breath before she passed out.

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I have the best and most wonderful reviewers in the world. I need to thank: maevelin, Lynora, BarbieRachel, Guest, CeceVolume, itsbeautiful9, Lily94, IWillLoveYouAlwaysAndNever, klarolinelover, epic sweetness712, deceptivecadence, LorenaLaufey, beadedheart, Serene-A-Cordova, Bullet2tm, Matt-On-Matt, lolaboots, KanoodlingwithKlaus, Ariel C. Rilmonn, Alie Cheslock, Ghanima2, Rose Jean Black, wind of banners, meagainpauline, KlausNCaroline, StefanxKlaus14, bunnykay, AnonymouslyYoursSeven, DreamsBeatReality, Garota, Lazerlicious, Banana71588, moon2012, ElisebethVE, Element Siren, Shanynde and SharkGurl.

I agonized over and rewrote this chapter far too many times. Please let me know what you think. :)

Feel free to follow me on tumblr at anastasiadreams. I would love to see you there.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to my incredible beta ElisebethVE. I honestly don't know what I would do without her. :)

This chapter contains a sex scene. I will mark for it so you can scroll through it if you would prefer not to read it.

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Caroline was in heaven. Warmth flowed through her in waves from the tips of her fingers to her toes and the terrible hunger pains that had once clawed at her insides were at last satiated. She felt so comfortable and safe that she knew, without even opening her eyes, that she was in Klaus's arms. She must have recently fed from him, because she could still taste the sweet tang of his blood in her mouth. It was all so blissful that she didn't want to open her eyes. The real world would interfere and she didn't think she had the strength to face reality. She would have been content to stay cocooned in Klaus's arms forever, but the memory of the stake in her chest and the look of glee in Bonnie who was not Bonnie would not leave her. Too many questions needed to be answered and somehow she knew that Klaus had to be at the center of all of it.

Opening her eyes, she realized at once she was not at home. Not only was she lying in a dark wood canopied bed there was a fireplace with a cracking fire across the room from her. On the walls hung magnificent and no doubt priceless artwork and the furniture scattered in the room was made of rich wood and upholstered with dark brown leather. Flickering candles adorned the dresser and several low bedside tables, creating an intimate scene she wasn't quite ready to deal with. With a small moan of regret at losing the warmth of Klaus's body, she sat up and scooted away from him on the bed.

"Love?"

His voice was a magnetic purr that had her aching to move back into his embrace, but instead she stood her ground, putting more space between them. "Where am I?"

"You're in my bed, in my bedroom."

"What?" she squeaked out. As he shifted on the bed to lie on his side, her gaze was drawn to the smirk on his face and the hint of dimples in his cheeks. "You were supposed to bring me home."

"I know, but I think you are much safer here. Don't you? Besides you needed to eat and it is much easier for both of us if I fed you here as I can attend to my needs as well."

Caroline swallowed. She knew exactly what he meant. After having been drained by her, he would need human blood and he wouldn't want to take it from a bag. No, he had someone to feed him, someone beautiful and willing like Antoinette. Just thinking of the beautiful brunette who he had offered to her once in his arms, his lips on her wrists and neck made her feel funny – and not in a good way. It left her hot with what could only be anger.

"I suppose you took care of that with Antoinette?" She hated the way she spit out the girls name like it was a dreaded disease.

Klaus's smirk turned into a grin, his eyes glinting with what looked suspiciously like laughter. "Would that happen to bother you, sweetheart?"

"Yes," Caroline retorted. "That poor girl forced to be your personal blood bag. She can't possibly enjoy be mauled over for your pleasure."

"Is that what you believe? I hate to disappoint you, but the humans offering their blood on my estate are here because they want to be. Before Elijah left, he made sure to recruit only the willing and might I mention that they are all being handsomely paid for their contributions. My brother, in his wisdom, thinks this will leave us on good terms with Mystic Falls and in a way protect us. As for mauling…" Klaus paused, his eyes growing hooded, his voice deepening "there has never been any of that between me and any of the girls. My interests lay elsewhere."

Caroline couldn't stand to look at him, for him to see the relief in her eyes, so instead she stared at the dark red satin comforter on his bed. It was the intense, vibrant color of fresh blood and the contrast of it against her once pure white gown made her now notice the dried brown stains that now marred the silk.

"My dress," she couldn't help but almost weep. It had been so expensive and now it was completely ruined.

"I will buy you a hundred more."

"But it won't be this one. This one was all supposed to be about dancing, spiked punch and giggling with my friends. Now it is about a failed prom and my friend almost killing me."

Klaus crawled towards her on the bed. "We will make new memories with every new dress you wear."

Caroline looked up cautiously from the front of her gown to find Klaus now inches away from her.

"I wanted to take it off you when we got here." With his finger he idly traced the top edge of the strapless bodice of her gown. Tucking his thumb between the silk and her skin, he tugged lightly exposing more of her cleavage. Caroline watched in embarrassment as a dark pink flush flared from the tops of her breasts all the way up to her throat. "But somehow I guessed that would be unwelcome."

"Very unwelcome," Caroline snapped, batting his hand away.

"So instead I fed you. You are feeling better?"

She actually was feeling really good. It was like she had never been staked earlier. There was no soreness in her body and no hunger pains in her stomach. Without thinking, her fingers poked around the front of her dress finding the hole where the stake had once been. The flesh was solid and as she pressed it she felt no pain. "Yes. Thank you."

"Good. I was worried. You lost so much blood. One inch closer and —"

Klaus paused and the strange, strangled quality to his voice had her lifting her head to look at him. His pupils were so very dark in his eyes and looking into them she thought she could see straight into the darkness of his soul. For a moment, stripped of his usual smirk and cocky demeanor it was possible to see the truth. He was terrified of losing her. Pure emotion flooded Caroline and she found it impossible to find her voice. How silly she was not to see it before. She had thought all this time his interest to be merely obsession, but could there be more? Was it possible that his feelings extended to something beyond that? She would have never thought a hybrid like him could have feelings of affection, could even love, but the way he was looking at her… it pierced her, like an arrow to her heart. What it seemed he felt for her, it filled her with awe.

Lifting the hand that had fed her, she turned it over to study the wrist in the flickering light of the candles. Running her thumb over the smooth skin, she frowned as she felt what could only be scar tissue that hadn't fully healed yet. The marks of her teeth were still there, embedded in his flesh.

"Klaus, you need to eat," Caroline said gently. "My bite mark is still here."

"I like it there."

Caroline grazed the mark again with her thumb and for a second she thought she saw Klaus shudder. "It could scar."

"Let it, love," Klaus rasped.

Lowering her head, she pressed her mouth to the bite mark. Kissing the spot where once her mouth had sucked his life giving blood from his body. He had done that for her. Bled for her, giving her back her life once more. The thought overwhelmed her and she fought back tears. Lowering his wrist from her mouth she felt his gaze resting heavy on her. "You should feed."

"Later."

She wanted to protest, but instead she merely nodded.

Klaus reached for her hand and pulled her closer to him. Idly he threaded his fingers through hers. "Tell me what happened tonight with Bonnie?"

Caroline took a deep breath before speaking. "No matter what I tell you, you will promise not to touch her?"

"Does she have reason to fear me?" he asked as he lifted the back of her hand to his lips.

"Of course not. It's Bonnie."

"Then there is nothing to worry about."

Caroline eyed him suspiciously, refusing to acknowledge the shiver that ran through her as his mouth grazed her skin. "

"Did she lure you out of the gym?"

"No. Nothing like that."

Klaus paused, his lips leaving her flesh and she almost moaned with regret. "You left the gym without Rebekah or I?"

"Yes, I…I shouldn't have but I was annoyed with Damon and wanted some fresh air."

Something in Klaus shifted, his eyes narrowing and his body becoming tightly coiled with barely repressed fury, like a cobra read to strike. "What exactly did Damon want?"

Caroline yanked her hand from Klaus's. "Nothing."

"Did he threaten you? Hurt you in anyway? Because if he did —"

"No. Of course not," she interrupted, not liking the way the way this conversation was going.

Klaus relaxed a little, but his jaw was still tight with tension. "Damon never does anything without some ulterior motive behind it and usually it involves his obsession for my doppelganger. So tell me, love, what did he wish to speak to you about?"

Oh, God. She was going to be sick. Caroline felt her stomach roll. She couldn't possibly tell him the truth. Not when Elena's very life was at stake, but how could she lie to him when he was in danger? Her heart was being torn into two. She needed to make a choice and with every second she delayed answering him he was growing more and more suspicious and she couldn't have him questioning or attacking Damon. She couldn't think about this right now. Couldn't possibly make a decision. Not after everything she had been through this night. No, she would think about it tomorrow when she was more clearheaded and when he wasn't next to her looking at her like she was the center of his entire universe. She needed to just give him enough of an answer he would drop the subject. A hint at the truth. Lifting her head she locked her gaze on him, forcing him to see the honesty in her eyes. "He wants me to spy on you. Find out your weaknesses so he can protect Elena."

"How foolish of him not to realize that my one and only weakness was dancing in his arms," Klaus replied huskily.

Caroline couldn't look at him now. Not when he said such sweet things to her and she was – she was supposed to…no, she wouldn't think of that now. Not until tomorrow when she was alone.

Klaus spread his arms wide open. "Spy all you wish for him. He will soon realize that there is nothing that can stop me."

Her heart leapt into her throat as she thought of the white oak stake that Damon had for her. Not wishing to continue this dangerous line of thought, Caroline distracted herself by fiddling with the magical daylight ring on her finger. "I won't spy for him."

"No, I believe you won't."

No, she would do something so much worse. Caroline twisted her ring over and over on her finger with agitation.

"You're upset," Klaus said softly, freeing her hand from her relentless torture of her ring finger. "I'm sorry, but I still need to hear what happened between you and Bonnie."

"I have questions for you too," Caroline replied, lifting her chin bravely. "When Bonnie was possessed she said some things that didn't make much sense. Things about you and I."

Klaus looked at her sharply, his eyes glinting so strangely that Caroline's heart tightened in her chest. "What things exactly did she say?"

"She talked like she had known you long ago. She said you didn't deserve happiness and love," Caroline paused to take a deep breath she didn't need before speaking the part that most bothered her the most, the part that for some reason terrified her more then anything else Bonnie had said. "She mentioned that I wasn't supposed to be reborn again. What did she mean by that?"

From the way Klaus flinched at her words she could see that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"What is it? What did she mean?" Caroline asked again, her voice insistent as her panic grew the longer he stayed silent.

Klaus pulled her hand to his chest, laying it over where his heart once beat and Caroline moved closer to him.

"Do you really want to know?"

There was hesitation in his tone like he was afraid of her answer no matter what it was. Caroline stared into his eyes; they were pure black now. For some reason she knew she stood at a precipice. If she chose truth, her life would never be the same, and if she chose ignorance, she would never rest peacefully again.

"Love?"

Caroline pressed her hand tighter against his chest, feeling the ripple of muscle against her fingertips. "Tell me."

Keeping her hand against his heart, Klaus moved into a kneeling position on the bed. Caroline followed, one hand on his heart the other clasped in his as her knees sank into the soft bed.

"Close your eyes."

"But —"

"Shhhh. I will show you."

Slowly, Caroline closed her eyes. She flew into his mind instantly. Once again she was faced with the long white corridor with a multitude of doors. One of them flew open and she moved to stand at the threshold. She paused and then, drawing in a long, shaky breath, she stepped through. Flashes of bright colors assaulted her and then she was with Klaus, somewhere in his past. It was a great hall, a chandelier above burning brightly with candles. He was stepping forward to greet someone. That had to be Queen Elizabeth I for no other could possibly have that shade of hair or wear a dress like that. Somehow she just knew that. However, behind her, moving towards them was what could only be her or rather the historical Caroline she had seen before. She rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe Klaus was showing her his fantasy again.

Historical Caroline danced with past Klaus and she watched with fascination as the couple blazed with passion and desire. She could feel it pulse all around her and she couldn't help but follow as they went into the same rose garden she had seen before. She could sense Klaus struggling with his desire to kill her lookalike, smelled his hunger in the air, but in the end he only kissed her. The vision switched again and there was scene after scene. A hunt, another dance, meetings in the forest and then once more they were in the rose garden. Only this time things were different.

Someone else was there with them. Caroline opened her mouth to warn the couple even though she knew they couldn't hear her as a woman appeared from the shadows. As soon as the stranger spoke, Caroline recognized her as the same person that Bonnie had channeled earlier. To her dread, she realized Klaus must have known her too because she was here in his memory. Now the woman who clearly was a witch was speaking, but Caroline wasn't paying attention to her words. She was too busy watching the play of emotions on historical Caroline's face. When the witch advanced menacingly on her lookalike she rushed forward to protect her even though logically she knew she could do nothing. To her horror, historical Caroline fell to the ground like a ragdoll and Klaus woke from his trance and without even a glance at the dead girl he walked away. It was as if she had never existed, as if he had never loved her, never danced with her and never kissed her.

Tears gathering in her eyes Caroline fell to her knees in front of her lookalike. This had to be a fantasy of Klaus's. This couldn't possibly be a true memory could it? But then why else was he showing it to her? Why had she dreamed of this girl and Klaus so many times?

_You should have never been born again_

"It's not me," she whispered. "It can't be."

Caroline gathered the young girl in her arms as tears streamed down her face, soaking the front of the other girl's velvet gown. Gently, she brushed the golden curls away from her lookalike's pale cheek. They looked exactly alike even down to the small freckles barely visible on their cheekbones. "Tell me it isn't true, Klaus."

There was nothing except silence at her words, but it didn't matter because she already knew the answer. Laying her lookalike back on the ground, Caroline pressed a teary kiss to the poor girl's forehead. She never had a life, never had a chance since the moment she engaged Klaus's interest. What had her life been like? Had she felt pain at the end?

And then she knew. It was like a hidden door had unlocked and sprung open and she could see it all. She was historical Caroline and her own look alike. The revelation didn't shock her. It was rather like the last piece of a puzzle finally falling into place. Suddenly, she could remember the loss of her parents, her loneliness growing up, her devotion to the queen and finally the joy that had come from at last finding love. Meeting Klaus had been the most wonderful thing in her life. She had loved him with every fiber of her being, given all of herself to him and in the end her last thoughts had been only of him.

Caroline's eyes flew open to find Klaus staring at her, his own eyes wet. Lifting her hand from his, she cupped his rough cheek. "Niklaus."

"Yes," he murmured thickly.

She could see him now, as he was that first night. His hair gleaming reddish gold in the candlelight, his eyes dark and filled with lust as he lifted her into the Volta. It was all there in her head. Their secret meetings, the stolen kisses. Last of all, Caroline could feel his mouth on hers, his fingers between her legs as he had introduced her to pleasure in the hallways of Whitehall.

Caroline's mouth crashed into his, seeking to steal with her lips the centuries that had been lost. She kissed him again and again, her hands winding around his neck to tug at the small curls at the back of his head. With a small moan he kissed her back, thrusting his tongue deep in her mouth. She slashed her mouth tighter around his, attempting to suck his very essence from his being, take it within herself so she would never be without him again. He tasted of tears and loss and it made her realize how much she had missed him, how much they had lost. There had been so little time for them. Stolen moments here and there, when they had managed to escape from court, but it was never enough.

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Rated M

Continue scrolling if you do not wish to read.

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Their mouths fused again and again, their kisses becoming more frantic and insistent. A frenzy of desire rose up in Caroline and she yanked tighter on his hair, trying to be as close to him as possible. He groaned against her mouth, his hands reaching to the back of her dress to tear the fabric, the tiny silk buttons ripping from their holes. Her dress slipped forward, pooling around her knees, revealing her white, lace bustier and matching thong that she had worn under her prom dress.

Klaus dragged his mouth from her lips, kissing down the side of her neck, his stubble rasping against her highly sensitive skin. With each kiss, the heat rushed faster and faster through her veins. Her whole body was melting, liquefying and turning into molten lava in her desire for him. When he sucked at that place on her neck, where once her pulse had raced, drawing the taunt skin between his lips, she gasped, her fingers twining even deeper into his curls.

He laved the flesh in his mouth while his fingers nimbly unhooked the front of her bustier one hook at a time until she felt nothing but cool air on her breasts. Removing the annoying foundation garment he tossed it on the ground, his lips never once leaving her neck. Caroline began unbuttoning his white dress shirt, one pearl button at a time. Impatient with her progress, as if he couldn't wait another minute more, he tore the shirt off and Caroline laughed as the buttons scattered over the bed and floor.

Their lips met once more, his mouth bruising hers with the intensity of his kiss as she pressed her breasts against his muscular chest. At the heated contact, the intimate touch of her skin against his, her nipples instantly budded. Klaus's fingertips walked a path down her spine and upon reaching her hips he cupped them thrusting them against his own. Through the fabric of his pants she felt his hardness rub against her most intimate place and she shuddered. It had been so long for her and just that little touch, that small graze through her lace thong had her clit swelling and begging for more. Her hands reached for his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh as he moved against her once more as if he knew the pleasure he was giving her.

Klaus continued to kiss her, his tongue thrusting against hers with long deep caresses that only made her think of him thrusting in other parts of her, parts that were now aching with want and need. His hands left her hips, yet she continued to grind against his manhood, unable to stop the fire he had kindled between her legs. He cupped her breasts, his thumbs flicking lightly at her erect nipples and, if possible, they hardened even more under his touches. His mouth on hers, his hips pressed against her, his fingers on her breasts she was overwhelmed with sensations; unable to take such pleasure any longer, she moved her hands to the front of his pants, unbuckling his belt and unzipping his fly. It was his turn to gasp as she took his swollen member in her hands, lightly stoking the entire length of him. He was as smooth as satin and so very long and hard. Just the thought of him inside her, his length tight within her had her moaning with passion.

Impatient with desire, Caroline pulled her mouth from his and locking her gaze on his, she fell back on the bed. As her head hit the soft mattress, her body sinking into the silky comforter, she eagerly pulled her feet from the remains of her gown and spread her legs. She had waited for centuries, had wanted this ever since that dark hallway in Whitehall when he had given her that first orgasm and she wasn't going to wait any longer. She smiled up at him and the way he was looking at her, with awe and something akin to reverence took her breath away.

"Klaus," she begged, putting all of her want, all her need into that one word.

"Not yet, love," he answered with a wicked grin.

She wanted to protest, but before she had a chance, he had lowered himself between her spread legs and was making a path with his mouth towards her molten core.

"Oh," was all she could say as he nipped lightly at her inner thigh with his teeth and ripped her lace thong off. Tiny kiss after painstaking tiny kiss he pressed against her skin as he traveled up her leg and when at last he reached her center he started the same process again with her other leg. She was so wet and achingly sensitive she trembled and bucked when at last with one long finger he lightly traced her womanhood from clit to opening.

"Please," she mewled.

Caroline thought she heard him chuckle, but he gave her no release as he only continued to lightly stroke and tease her with his fingertip. Then his mouth was on her and she nearly wept as she felt the delicious flutter of his tongue. She was going to come, she was so close, but to her agony he paused his attentions, leaving her on the cusp of release. Then his tongue was on her once more, circling her nub gently, barely touching her until she felt herself on the verge one more. Again and again he tormented her bringing her to the edge and back again, driving her half mad with desire.

"Now, Caroline. Come for me," he growled.

He massaged her clit with his tongue, while at the same time he pushed two fingers deep inside her, curling them slightly as he thrust them in and out rhythmically. That was all it took and her orgasm burst through her like a ball of fire, searing her nerve endings and setting her whole body on fire. She was burning, her insides shaking from the scorching heat. The orgasm continued to flare through her, one shudder at a time until she was limp from head to toe.

Caroline was barely coherent as he kissed his way up her body, lingering to lick one of her nipples into a hard point and then moving to the other. When at last his lips slid to her neck, he settled between her legs, caging her on either side with his bent arms.

"Look at me, love."

Her eyes flew open at his command. Klaus stared back at her, gold leaping in his irises as he forced her to recognize what he was about to do. That it was him who was about to give her even more pleasure. That he owned her. He slid the silky head of his cock over her now highly sensitive clit, smirking as she moaned and undulated at the touch. Then with one deep thrust he slid all the way into her. Caroline shook around him, feeling every beautiful inch of him. He was sheathed so tightly in her, so deep inside he could barely move and as he attempted to pull out she clamped down on him as hard as she could.

Klaus made a strangled sound as his whole body trembled. Then he pulled free from her grasp, thrusting again inside of her. He was so rock hard, so big. She had never been filled like this before, so possessed by another. With each thrust he made sure to move his hips in such a way that he hit her clitoris every time. Soon she was moaning and moving along with him. She clenched him inside of her again and again, taking pleasure in the small sounds he made. His muscular chest rubbed against her breasts, causing her nipples to once more peak. The delicious friction inside and outside was almost too much to bear, but she fought it, biting down on her lower lip.

His hands moved to her hips, grasping and lifting them up even more to match his thrusts. He was fucking her in the wildest way, his cock plunging harder and faster with every movement. His head fell into her neck and once more she felt him sucking at that vulnerable spot and she cried out with bliss. Then, he swiveled his hips, hitting some sensitive part inside of her that brought instant pleasure to her entire core. Once more she was on the verge as he pumped harder and harder into her, rocking her entire body on his cock. She was so close and she was sure she couldn't take it one moment longer. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she climbed higher and higher into ecstasy. She felt him move his head, felt the attack before it happened, but there was nothing she could do to prevent it, even if she wanted to prevent it. With one long thrust of his hips she came, his fangs buried deep in her neck. The world went black around her, yet he kept moving faster and faster, slamming into her. Caroline was dying in the most blissful way ever, her whole body awake and alive with sensations that ran over her skin like tongues of fire. Her blood soared through her veins. She was trembling near to falling into another orgasm. Her fingers clawed up and down his back as she felt him bite her harder and bury his fangs even deeper into her.

Klaus had to be close now because his whole body tensed, his muscles tightening to granite. Caroline clamped down as tight as she could around him, relishing the sensations that trembled through her and the way his body jerked on top of her. They were both pushed to the brink now. No longer able to hold on to her sanity any longer, with a wild cry she came again and he followed moments later. They lay, locked together as one, their bodies satiated at last.

Pulling his fangs from her neck, Klaus licked at the wound and Caroline felt it tingle as it closed. Ghosting kisses along her jawline and across her cheek, he at last found her lips. He kissed her slowly, gently, like he was savoring this moment, the calm after the storm of their lovemaking. Caroline stroked her tongue along his; luxuriating in feeling the weight of his body pressed against her, his cock still in her. For the first time in her life she felt at peace, like she had found her place in the world at last and it was at his side. When he pulled out of her at last, she felt a sense of loss, even though he gathered her tightly in his arms.

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End of M rating

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Being in his embrace, his warm body pressed against hers made it almost easy to forget everything that had happened tonight, but she couldn't. Her conversation with Damon, Bonnie's possession and the return of the witch, it all weighed heavily on her.

"Klaus, I —"

"We'll talk in the morning. You need to rest."

She wanted to argue, but she was so very tired. She had almost been killed, found out she was reincarnated and had mind-blowing sex with a vampire/hybrid all in one evening. Did she really want to face reality at this moment? Plus, it would be so much easier to avoid it all and just let herself enjoy this moment being next to him. Because she knew with the harsh dawning of the morning she would have to deal with the fact that nothing had really changed between them at all.

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><p>I have the best reviewers in the world. You are all so very special to me. Thanks and love to Shift, JaneA0202, maevelin, damlanur, Cloeyhds, Lily94, AnonymousGuest, LoveIsNotAGame, KoffeeKath, moon2012, KlausNCaroline, epic sweetness712, DreamsBeatReality, InuGome17, StefanxKlaus14, Anneliese, xXxVioletDelightsxXx, aliecheslock, Ariel C. Rilmonn, Lynora, CeceVolume, meagainpauline, Clary101, Matt-On-Matt, klarolinelover, deskynowsky, recklesssouls, Lazerlicious, Shanynde, midnight shadow of darkness, Sci-fi Christian, SharkGurl, Bullet2tm, itsbeautiful9, obsessedfaerie, OKBooey31, BarbieRachel, DawnWalnut, LorenaLaufey, Garota and klaroline lover.<p>

I hope the M scene didn't offend anyone. It was a natural progression for the characters and the story and I couldn't imagine it not being there so I hope it worked.

One last thing...I posted a new story this weekend called _Sanguis Donum_. If you like your Klaroline very dark and AU please give it a try.


	12. Chapter 11

Gentle fingertips lightly danced over Caroline's shoulder blades and down her back, drawing delicate designs and she reveled in the delectable touch even as it pulled her from the depths of sleep. Peacefulness settled over her like a down blanket, warmth radiating from deep inside, spreading luxuriously throughout her limbs. Content, she fought against wakefulness and the inevitable expulsion from a heaven she never could have imagined.

Complete for the first time in her existence she fought the return to reality. Only, the touches continued, teasing, coaxing prickles of pleasure that erupted all over her flesh. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open. Deep blue eyes stared directly back at her, tenderness and devotion in their depths. Entranced, she dreamily caressed the face she recognized.

Wait. This can't be right.

Oh, God.

She was in bed with Klaus. In a dizzying rush, the events of the previous night blurred together, painting a picture. They made love and normally that term would have made her groan at how ridiculous it sounded. Seriously, who really made love? This time she couldn't lie to herself, not with the brutal truth right before her eyes. Together, they made mind-blowing, earth shattering love. A promise from centuries ago at long last fulfilled.

"It's true, isn't it? What you showed me last night? The past?" She managed to whisper.

Klaus nodded, smiled even. A smile of happiness, sweet boyish shyness. The truth revealed at last seemed to have changed him, set him free. "It took centuries, but you have been returned to me. My beautiful, Caroline."

Returned to him. She once lived a whole different life. Loved and ultimately died for him. How she wanted to deny it, denounce it all as lies. The enormity of it all made her head ache.

She lifted her hand from his face and he took it within his own, kissing each of her fingertips with his soft lips. A small moan escaped her mouth. Flames sparked under her skin, stoking a fire that could easily consume her again.

What happened in the past between them was just that, the past. She had to believe that. Anything else denied who she was now. Caroline Forbes, Miss Mystic Falls, vampire and head cheerleader. Their lives, their experiences were so very different that she couldn't allow them to intersect. Which meant last night should never have happened. Lowering her eyes from the intensity of his gaze, she pulled her hand from his lips.

"Last night…I-I shouldn't have done this." With her actions she only complicated things further between them, allowing him to believe the lie that something could exist between them.

"Shouldn't have done what, love?"

The sharp edge to Klaus's tone cut through flesh and muscle, slicing deeply into her heart.

"I shouldn't have slept with you. I was overwhelmed by everything that happened, what you showed me, and I made a mistake."

The happiness in his face slipped into oblivion. "Last night was not a mistake."

"How can you say that? All it has done is complicate things even more." Caroline sat up, pulling the silk sheet to her chest. She swept her hand in the air over the two of them. "This…this can't be. We can't happen."

"I hate to disappoint you, but this most certainly can be and we will happen," Klaus growled, flaming fury in his eyes.

"I'm not that girl now. The one you loved from the past. She doesn't exist anymore. Whatever we once had, we don't have now. It's over." Each word hurt, draining away the most pure and true happiness she had ever experienced. Yet, it needed to be done. She had to end this before he was even deeper in her heart.

"Is that what this is about?" Relief softened his features. "Don't you understand that the girl from the past is you? I want you no matter what incarnation you are. We belong together. That is why we have been given a second chance."

Caroline couldn't believe that even if she wanted to, desperately even. Fairy tales of soul mates and forever love didn't exist anymore for her. She had experienced too much heartache and suffering and as things stood now there would be even more to come. Klaus would never give up Elena, and Damon would never give up his desire to see the hybrid staked.

"What little time we had together has passed," Caroline replied with a soft sigh. "It's been centuries and I am with Tyler now." Tyler who was safe and comfortable, who willingly tortured himself and put her first.

"You weren't with him last night when you were moaning and panting in my arms," Klaus bit out.

"You're disgusting." She yanked the sheet off the mattress to cover up her nakedness. Getting up off the bed, she searched for her discarded prom dress.

"You don't have anything I haven't seen before and will see again, sweetheart."

Casting him an angry look she picked up her dress noticing at once that it couldn't possibly be worn again. It was a complete mess, blood stained with all the buttons ripped from the back of it. "Where are your shirts?"

"Why should I tell you? I think I prefer you this way. Naked and available to my touch," Klaus replied silkily as he moved to sit up. The comforter that covered him slid down his chest to pool at his hips and Caroline inhaled sharply at the sight, unable to keep her gaze from lingering over his perfect form.

Quickly, she averted her eyes and stalked over to a carved wooden wardrobe. Rifling through it she quickly found a soft, blue button down shirt. Digging though a drawer below the shirts she found a pair of boxers. While the clothes were big and would hang on her, they would have to do until she got home. With haste, she dropped the sheet and donned the clothing ignoring the heat of Klaus's dark gaze upon her.

"I need a ride. Can you have one of your hybrids drive me home?"

"I don't think you have thought this out very well, love," Klaus replied, a cruel smirk on his face. "You're not going anywhere. You are mine and now that you remember your feelings for me there is nothing to stop us being together. I have been most patient with you. More patient than I have ever been before in a thousand lifetimes and I am not going to let you go."

"So you would keep me here, ensuring my hatred of you?"

Klaus rose from the bed, pulling on his pants he prowled over to her. Caroline backed away from him until she hit the back of his bedroom door."

"You don't hate me. You couldn't if you tried."

He was so very close to her, his scent enveloping her, woodsy with a hint of the magic she could taste in his blood and her body trembled and it wasn't with fear. Caroline pressed herself even tighter against the door as he brushed her hair back from her shoulders exposing her neck. When he brushed his lips over the same spot he bit and drank from during their lovemaking, she shuddered uncontrollably. Blood pounded in her ears and her eyes practically rolled back in to her head. It took every ounce of strength she had not to throw her arms around him and smother him with kisses. She wanted to taste him, drink him in, while he thrust into her once more.

"Don't do this," Caroline whimpered.

"Don't do what, love?" Klaus murmured against her skin, unable to hide his triumph at her submission.

Caught in his spell, she couldn't speak, only react. Throwing her whole body against him, she shoved hard. He flew across the room and landed on the mattress, cracking the wooden bedframe with his fall. Caroling whipped around to open the door, only to have it slammed shut in a haze of movement, a hiss of wind. Swallowing, she turned around to face him once more. The mighty lion against the lamb, she had forgotten how very fast he could move, how ineffectual she was against him.

"Don't you tire of this game?" Klaus sighed. "I know you want me. I can smell it on you, hear it in the rush of your blood through your veins."

"Maybe I do, but that isn't enough," Caroline countered with a stubborn tilt of her chin.

"Then tell me what it will take to have you? What will be enough?" With tenderness he cupped her face in his large, hands. Staring into his eyes, seeing the yearning that he didn't bother to hide, she glimpsed a vision of a possible world, one in which they maybe could be free.

"Elena…you need to give her up. No more blood from my friend. No more hybrids"

Klaus's hands fell to his sides, the warmth in his eyes freezing to ice and she shivered, knowing his answer before he even said a word.

"That will never happen."

"See, that is just one of the reasons that we can't be together." Tears of desperation gathered in her eyes, for with his words he damned himself to his own death. Elena would never be safe otherwise.

"You have no idea what you are asking of me, love," Klaus answered, compressing his lips into a thin line.

Caroline wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of his shirt that hung over her thin wrists. "Then there is nothing left to be said between us. I can't be with someone who feels this need to create some ridiculous hybrid army to feel powerful. You already are the strongest. The alpha male. We all get that."

"I need my hybrids. I waited centuries to be able to create them, to have my own kind around. Their existence is even more important now that there is a deranged witch out there trying to kill you and destroy my life. Can't you see that? I need them to keep you safe."

"Have you forgotten that they can be brainwashed and compelled to kill? I almost died at the hands of one of your hybrids."

"No, I haven't forgotten," Klaus lashed out.

Sweeping her gaze to the floor, Caroline carefully considered her next words. "Isn't it possible that the Sire bond could be broken. That they all could turn against you?"

"Impossible."

"Your hybrids can't keep me safe anymore than my friends can."

Klaus laughed and the sound wasn't pleasant. "You really think the Salvatore brothers can keep you from harm? All they care about is Elena. They will use you for any means necessary to keep her alive."

The truth of his words hit Caroline in a suffocating rush. Hadn't she evidence of that just the night before with Damon? They had no issues using Klaus's infatuation with her to get her to murder him and free Elena. They didn't even consider how killing him would affect her. How deeply it would scar her and not just because it was Klaus. Other then the human life she had taken when she first turned she hadn't murdered another being, living or dead, since then.

"What can she possibly mean to you? She is human, mortal. In a hundred years she will be dust and ash.".

"Maybe so, but she is my best friend and she doesn't deserve to live out what remains of her life perpetually bleeding for you," Caroline retorted, her cheeks heating with frustration as she recalled once again his disregard for all human life.

Klaus took her hands in his, running his thumbs over the blue veins in her wrists. "Caroline, after what you have been through in the last twenty-four hours you should feed again. Besides now is not the time to be making decisions. Come back to bed and we'll talk. Work things out together."

His rich voice so calm, so persuasive, tempted her. To be gathered in his strong embrace, protected and sheltered from the hideous decision Damon was forcing her to make. Yet, how could she spend time with him, knowing his death might be near, even at her own hands?

"I can't." Caroline attempted to pull her hands from his and he refused to let her.

"So what? You walk away from everything we have, ignore your love for me?"

"Yes," she hissed.

"So you admit it?" His eyes brightened, a satisfied gleam within.

"I-I…didn't mean it," she stammered, shaken by his conclusion, her guilty admission.

"Yes, you did," he purred. Klaus looked so pleased with himself, the cat having captured the canary at last.

"You are misreading things. Tricking me. There is nothing between us, nothing except a shared past that I would sooner forget."

A muscle clenched in Klaus's jaw. "Don't say that."

"Why," she asked flippantly, knowing she poked the devil. "None of it means anything to me. Your Caroline is dead. She doesn't exist anymore and you mean nothing to me."

"You lie," Klaus ground out just before his mouth crashed into hers.

Caroline tried to yank her head away, but he gripped her face with his hands holding her in place. He kissed her brutally, his lips hard against hers as his tongue thrust into her mouth. It was a kiss of possession, one that sought to prove her words wrong. She stood her ground, wildly fighting not to react, but already she could feel herself submitting to his will. Her body sagged against the door, her breasts swelling, growing sensitive as he pressed his chest against hers. When he lightly cut his tongue on the tip of her barely recessed fang, giving her taste of his blood it was her undoing.

With desperation she kissed him back, her hands clawing into his shoulders. Her need for him, his taste, the release only he could give took over her and she ground her hips into his. Klaus needed no urging, he lifted her up and she straddled her legs around him. Her body burned, an inferno raging inside of her. His blood in her mouth, every inch of her form pressed to his, desire escalated to a tortured peak.

"Caroline! Where are you?"

Cold washed over her. She recognized that high-pitched, panicked voice easily. Elena was here. Caroline's feet flew to the ground, her mouth leaving Klaus's. He groaned and tried to capture her lips again and she quickly moved her head so he caught only her cheek. Once again she thrust him from her, her hands on his firm, muscular chest. Only this time he seemed to be expecting it and he was unmovable.

"Caroline! Are you okay? What has he done to you? Get your hands off me."

Elena had to be downstairs and while Caroline didn't think Klaus's hybrids would harm her friend, she wasn't about to risk it. "Let me go."

"We weren't finished, love."

"I can't deal with this right now. Elena is downstairs."

"Then tell me when you will be ready to deal with this?"

"I don't know." Caroline didn't think she would ever be able to deal with what existed between them. However, at this moment, she needed to get out of his bedroom and his house as soon as possible. She needed time to herself away from him and his calculated seduction, a chance to harness the strength to fight him. Especially if her hand was forced and she had to forever extinguish the light in his eyes. "Please give me some time. Everything that's happened…it's all so new to me. I don't know how to deal with this."

Klaus leaned in close, his lips hovering over his healed bite mark along her neck. "You could make this so much easier. Just accept that you belong at my side."

Oh, God. What he could do to her. "Give me time," she croaked.

"I have waited long enough, sweetheart."

"Caroline!" Elena yelled again, nearing hysteria.

"Just let me go for now. Give me some space. I need to think." She offered him her most coaxing look, her smile one of sugar and syrup that few could deny. "Please, Klaus."

He stared hard at her for a long moment before jerking his head in acceptance. "You have until tonight. Then we are working this out."

Caroline nodded. Less then twelve hours to decide what her next steps were. Not nearly enough time.

"I am going to have some hybrids follow you home and stay with you. I need to make sure you are safe."

"Fine."

Klaus attempted to kiss her goodbye, but wise to him, she twisted her head away from his mouth. This small act of rebellion brought a chuckle to his lips. "You will be mine, " he murmured against her cheek.

Caroline flinched at his solemn vow. Hurrying as fast as she could from his room she flew down the stairs. Reaching the main floor landing, Caroline found a very upset Elena surrounded by several hybrids, one of them had even gone so far as to have his hand wrapped around her friend's arm. At her appearance, they looked to her for instructions.

"Let her go," Caroline directed.

In unison, the hybrids stared at her and then looked to a tall, dark-haired young man standing at the edge of the group. He was dressed in a black suit and seemed to be in charge.

"Do as she says." The hybrid jerked his thumb at his subordinates. "Klaus said she was to be obeyed as long as she wasn't putting her life in danger."

Abruptly released, Elena with a look of disbelief smoothed her hair and clothes. "They follow your orders now?"

"I guess so?" Caroline blinked nervously. "Let's get out of here."

"You don't tell to tell me twice." Elena glared at the hybrids still within standing distance. Grabbing Caroline's hand, she marched her out of the Mikaelson mansion and out into the circular driveway where her car was waiting.

Climbing into Elena's vehicle, Caroline felt a burning between her shoulder blades, that weird sense that someone watched her. Turning her head, she saw Klaus standing at the upstairs window gazing right at her. Noticing the pleased smile on his face, a chill ran through her. Until tonight, he had said. Keenly, she now recognized every second that passed, every particle of sand that slipped through the hourglass.

Pulling out of the driveway and unto the road, Elena remained silent as they joined the rest of the traffic. Unable to contain herself anymore, she spoke up, "I knew I should have stopped him from taking you to his place last night. I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I swear we will make him pay for ever touching you."

Caroline looked up from the hem of Klaus's shirt that had settled down past her knees. "What?"

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about this. I get it. You're probably in shock. I just want you to know I am here for you. We all are."

The grim determination in Elena's voice, surprised Caroline and she turned to look at her friend. She didn't know what kind of reaction she expected to have from Elena at finding her half-naked wearing Klaus's clothes, but this wasn't it. Her friend clearly thought she had been taken advantage of, that Klaus had hurt her. This was so far from the truth it made Caroline want to giggle.

"I don't think you understand. This isn't what it looks like."

"Oh, thank God," Elena whispered, her shoulders shaking with relief. "I thought that you and Klaus – that he forced you and you were together…like together."

Caroline forced back the hysterical laughter bubbling in her throat at Elena's reaction to the possibility that something sexual happened between her and Klaus. How could she possibly tell Elena the truth when the very idea would cause her friend such distress?

"I feel so silly now." Elena turned to glance at Caroline a relieved smile on her face. "When I saw you standing there in Klaus's clothes I just assumed that something had happened between you.

Biting her lip, Caroline stared back at her friend, trying to think how best to tell her that her assumptions were completely justified. "We need to talk."

By the time they reached the Forbes house, she had shocked Elena to silence.

.

.

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><p>.<p>

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Caroline stepped out of her bedroom, freshly showered and dressed casually in jeans and a black silky camisole. Elena still sat on her bed where she had left her to go shower. She thought her friend might have left with the amount of time she spent in the shower scrubbing away all traces of Klaus. Rubbed pink and raw from an hour bathing, Caroline assumed once she removed all evidence that they were together she would feel clean and free again. She was wrong. Klaus lingered in her thoughts still, his touch shadowing her skin, his fangs piercing the vein in her neck.

"Elena?"

"Huh?" Her friend looked up from the lacy bed pillow she studied intently. From the mushy, distorted shape of it, Elena must have squeezed it repeatedly the whole time Caroline showered.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure. I mean why wouldn't I be?" Elena attacked the pillow again. "One of my closest friends just tells me that she is the reincarnated love of my worst enemy. Oh, and she slept with him even though he might have killed her."

"Klaus would never hurt me."

Elena stared at her, knitting her eyebrows together.

"Well…not intentionally," Caroline conceded.

"How do you even know he is telling you the truth about this reincarnation business? What if he compelled you and it is all a big lie? What then? Maybe this is all part of some big plan to get back at us – hurt me?" Elena tightened her grip on the pillow until the stuffing burst through a tear in a corner seam.

"It's okay." Caroline touched her hand to Elena's, gently removing the victimized pillow from her friend's stiff fingers. "I promise, for once this isn't about you."

"How do you know that? He wants to take my blood from me, my home and now one of my best friends."

The bleak fear, the hopeless look in Elena's eyes ripped a hole in Caroline's heart, one that couldn't be fixed, sewn back together like her pillow. Klaus was doing this, had done this to her friend.

"Elena?"

At the lack of response from her friend, Caroline scooted down next to her on the bed. "I swear, if anything this whole reincarnation thing, my connection to Klaus, it has helped us – helped you."

"How do you know it's real? That he isn't lying about your past life? That getting you into bed isn't some trick of his?"

"It's hard to explain. Just….just trust me… I — he…."

Caroline's reluctance to continue struck a chord within Elena, waking her from her spiral of self-destructive thought. "You can tell me anything. I won't judge."

"Thanks." She offered Elena a weak smile. "It's all so overwhelming at times I find it hard to believe any of it's real, but it is. I know it."

"How?"

"Because I remember it, all of it. It's a truth that is carved so deep into who I am, my very soul, that to deny it is to deny my existence." Caroline dug her nails into her jean-clad legs. "I tried to fight it for so long, the dreams, the longing, the connection I have with him. Last night, I needed to understand the emptiness I have always known, the reality that existed beyond my grasp, and Klaus unlocked the door."

Caroline paused, her throat thick with unshed tears.

"What did you see?"

"A whole different world. A Caroline who was me, but wasn't. I saw her whole existence. I knew her pain, her terror, her love as she died for Klaus at the hands of a witch."

"Oh, Caroline," Elena replied softly. "I don't know what to say."

"I don't either."

Elena settled her arm around Caroline's shoulders, a gesture of love and comfort. "What are you going to do?"

"I wish I could control Klaus. I tried to get him to agree to stop this obsession he has with creating hybrids and your blood, but it is useless," Caroline replied with a bitter laugh. "He thinks he's protecting me, but his hybrids can be brainwashed against him. I have seen it happen."

"What? How?"

"It doesn't matter." Caroline laid her head on Elena's shoulder. "What does matter is that I think he feels like they are his chance to finally belong somewhere. That forcing their loyalty will give him what we have: family, friendship and love. Only it will do the opposite and leave him more alone than ever. That is what we need to be afraid of."

"I don't care if he is alone. Forever. I can't think of a better scenario," Elena replied with disdain. "He certainly doesn't deserve you. If anything he is going to get you killed again like before. It's his fault what happened last night to you."

Caroline lifted her head up to look at her friend. "He saved my life."

"It's his fault Bonnie got possessed in the first place."

"How did you kn—"

"Easy," Elena interrupted, "Last night, Bonnie started to remember bits and pieces from the possession. Really weird stuff about a witch which kind of makes sense now"

Caroline grasped Elena's hand. "What exactly did she say? Can she talk to the witch?"

"I don't know?"

"We need to get her to remember everything. From my memories the witch will do anything to kill me again. I need to talk to her, get her to stop. That and figure out how she broke the Sire bond with one of Klaus's hybrids."

"What? Like Tyler is trying to do?"

"Exactly." Caroline released Elena's hand and walked over to her closet, removing an olive green jacket from a hanger. "We can use that knowledge to help Tyler and most importantly, stop Klaus. If the Sire bond were easily broken, his hybrids easily brainwashed, why would he want to keep making them? They could turn on him at any second, becoming too much of a liability."

"What are you doing?"

Caroline shrugged the coat on. "I'm going to see Bonnie."

"No." Elena jumped off the bed. "No, you're staying right here."

"What? Why?" Caroline stood in front of the mirror on her dresser, finger combing her still damp hair.

"You almost got killed last night by Bonnie. Remember?"

"It won't happen again. Bonnie won't let it, now that she knows the signs." Fishing around on her dresser, Caroline located the lip-gloss she was looking for.

Elena stood in front of the door, her hands on her hips. "I am not letting you go anywhere. Not until I know for sure you are going to be safe."

Shrill ringing erupted from the entryway where Elena had dumped her purse when Caroline went to shower.

"I think I know who that is." Caroline flashed her friend a teasing smile in the mirror before applying pink lip-gloss to her mouth.

"We all know who that is," Elena grumbled. "I checked in when I got here. What more does he want?"

"To keep you on a leash?" Caroline pursed her lips, smacking them together before tossing the pink gloss back into a pile of makeup on her dresser.

"That's not funny."

The ringing continued, insistent.

Caroline turned around to look at Elena. "Aren't you going to answer?"

Her friend bit her lip. The phone rang again. She shifted on her feet. It rang again. "Fine. I'll be right back."

Slipping on her leather boots, Caroline picked up her purse from the bed where she threw it before showering and took one last glance in the mirror before following Elena.

"Yes, I'm still at Caroline's," Elena mumbled into her phone. "No. She's fine. What? Why?"

Caroline hid a smile while Damon switched from nicely requesting to ultimately demanding that Elena come back to the house."

"Fine. I'll bring her with me."

With dramatic flair, Caroline shook her head repeatedly while mouthing no.

"Okay. Fine." Elena pushed a button on her phone, ending the call. "Damon wants me to bring you back with me to the house."

"Elena —"

"What? I think it is a good idea. We can talk about all of this and figure out what we're going to do to keep you safe."

"I really don't want to deal with Damon and all of his questions right now."

"He can help." Elena coaxed. "If not, Stefan will know what to do."

The thought of dealing with the brothers right now, hearing from Damon how the only solution they had was for her to kill Klaus had her wincing with pain.

"Are you okay?"

Caroline barely heard Elena as she tried not to picture piercing him with the white oak stake Damon had saved for her. How Klaus would fall to her feet, betrayal on his face, his body cold and stiff. Excruciating pain exploded in her heart at the thought of the sparkling light in his eyes forever gone.

"Caroline?"

Pressing her hands to her chest, she leaned against the wall to steady herself.

"I'm fine. I must still be weak from the blood loss last night," Caroline explained, smiling wanly.

"No, you're not. You almost passed out. Let me call Damon and Stefan and have them come here. That might actually work better. They can stay with you and keep Klaus away."

"No!"

Elena's set her hands on her hips once more. "Why not?"

Caroline recognized all the hallmarks of Elena's stubborn temperament in the way her chin poked out at her, the stubborn tilt of her mouth and her leaden stance. As much as she loved her friend, all she wanted to do was get rid of her and see Bonnie. If she could only contact the witch from long ago, maybe she could make everything stop and save herself and Klaus. She could keep the witch from killing her and find out how Klaus's hybrid servant was brainwashed. If she had those answers she might be able to use that threat to keep him from making anymore, setting Elena free.

"I don't feel really well. I think I need to lay down." Caroline walked back towards the bedroom, making sure to stumble slightly on her feet. This little action had Elena running to help her. Guilt swam inside of her, filling her stomach and sliding into her throat, but she resolutely swallowed it back.

"Here, just rest for a minute," Elena said, helping her into bed.

"Don't call Stefan and Damon."

"Why?"

"The truth is…you see the truth is…" Caroline sought a lie, one that was believable, only it was the truth that came out. "I'm not ready to talk about any of this with them yet. I need a little time to process all this."

"You know they only want to help and if we are dealing with Klaus and this witch we need it."

"I know. Just give me until tomorrow. We can have a big meeting with everyone then and make some decisions. For right now, I just want some time. Alone."

"Caroline…" While Elena's eyes softened, her face was still set in resolute lines of determination.

"Please." She cracked a pleading smile - a little one she knew would strike right at Elena's heart.

"You have to promise to let us all work this out tomorrow. No more secrets."

"Of course."

"All right, then." Elena patted Caroline's shoulder. "I will let you rest."

Just to be careful, Caroline waited until Elena's car drove down the street before she jumped out of bed. She promised no more secrets, but that promise would have to start tomorrow because today she was going to go see Bonnie and get the answers she needed.

.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed the update. I realize it was a long time coming and for that I apologize. I want to thank all my readers that have stuck with me all this time and I also want to welcome those that are new. :)<p>

My thanks go to Maevelin for never letting me forget about this story and for encouraging me to come back to it after all this time. Writing this chapter has been a pure joy and reminded me of all the things that I love so much about Klaroline. I also need to thank QueenofKlaroline and Sci-fi Christian for their wonderful editing skills. They have been wonderful to work with.


	13. Chapter 12

It took only minutes to reach Bonnie's place on the edge of town. Parking on the side street near the house, Caroline noticed at once the strategically placed hybrids gathered on the outer porch, blocking access to the house. She knew they weren't there for Bonnie's protection. Slamming her car door shut, she stalked towards the house and up the stairs to the porch.

"Seriously? He has you harassing my friends now!"

Stopping at the top step, she jabbed one of the hybrids blocking her in the chest with one perfectly manicured finger. "Out of my way."

With stony looks on their faces, Klaus's servants parted before her. The heels of her leather boots clicked on the creaky floorboards as she walked up to the screen door. She was going to let Klaus have it when she saw him again. How dare he send his hybrids to threaten Bonnie? Lifting her hand to knock, the air pulsed behind her, giving her only a second to react.

"Hello, love."

Spinning on her heels, she came face to face with the very person she wanted to avoid. It didn't stop her breath quickening and her skin electrifying with sexual awareness at being so close to him. His jeans hung low on his waist, hugging his muscular thighs and her mouth dried up, her imagination running wild at picturing her legs wrapped around his waist.

"Damn it, Klaus! You scared me to death." Her palm shoved him in the chest, her hand briefly lingering over the contrast of his soft cotton button down shirt molded to his firm torso before falling to her side.

He chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners with mirth and she knew like some kind of silly child, he enjoyed sneaking up on her.

"You can't go around doing that. Or, following me, for that matter."

His laughter came to a stop, and it frustrated Caroline that she cared. She wanted to hear more of that happy, rumbly sound.

"I'm not following you, but maybe I should. You were supposed to stay nice and safe at your home with my hybrids. Imagine my surprise to get a call from them that you left? When I gave you twenty fours hours, it wasn't permission for you to sneak off and visit the one person who attempted to murder you. "

"Pfft. It's Bonnie. She would never let it happen again. Besides, I don't remember you becoming the boss of me. I can see whoever I want to."

"Think again, sweetheart. Do you remember nothing from last night?" Klaus smiled, satisfaction in the twist of his lips, the contented timbre of his voice. "You are mine."

"Stop with that. I am myself. I am not ever going to be yours or anyone else's."

"Keep fighting me then." Klaus stepped closer to her.

His gaze settled on hers, his intensely blue eyes drawing her in. The desire and passion gleaming in them destroyed her reasoning as to why exactly she was so upset. She bit her lip, forcing herself not to think of his kisses, the delicious way he tasted, heavy wine infused with magic. Caroline didn't want him any closernearer, but when his thumb grazed his healed bite mark on her neck, jolting her with an electric shock, a tiny sigh slipped from her lips. He really needed to stop doing that.

Klaus smirked, preening with arrogance. "Fighting me, fighting us, only makes your inevitable surrender tonight that much sweeter."

Caroline smacked his hand away. "There will be no surrendering happening tonight. Why can't you get that through your thick, hybrid skull? And stop touching me." What was wrong with her? How with one caress on her neck was he able to bring her practically to her knees?

Bonnie's screen door cracked open a few inches. "Caroline? You shouldn't be here."

"Just what I was about to tell her myself," Klaus cocked his head to give Caroline a stern look. "Which raises the question, what exactly are you doing here, sweetheart?"

"My business with Bonnie has nothing to do with you," Caroline retorted. "And I will do as I wish."

"Wrong answer."

He stepped even closer to her ignoring her most stubborn, defiant stare.

"Everything you do, everybody you see is now my business. I won't lose you. I won't go through that again."

What remained of Klaus' playfulness was long gone. His words, that word – _Again –_ and the heartbreak in the crack of his voice when he spoke it, soared right through her anger and frustration. Caroline swallowed, unable to even form a reply as darkness cloaked him, his eyes glittering with a ruthlessness she had never seen in him before.

"Get in the house now, Caroline." Bonnie opened the screen door wider. "Klaus! Don't you get any closer to her."

Caroline's took a step towards the doorway.

"Don't," Klaus warned.

"I mean it, Caroline. Get in," her friend entreated. "I swear I will do everything I can not to hurt you. Can you say the same for him?"

Klaus swung his head towards the door, glaring at Bonnie. "Hurt her? You have no idea what I would go through to keep her unharmed. Unlike you, who let another into your body so you could plunge a stake through her heart. "

"I didn't mean for that to happen. I would never hurt her." Bonnie focused on Caroline, guilt written in her face. "I would never hurt you."

"But you did, witch, and for that you have to pay."

Death. It was in Klaus's threat, in the slant of his eyes. A promise Caroline knew he would keep. It was why he was here.

Caroline's chest hurt, her anger near the surface as she contemplated the loss of one of her closest friends at the hands of one who proclaimed to care so deeply for her. "Klaus."

He turned his head to face her, evil intent sketched in the lines of his face.

It was her turn now, a vengeful Queen; she crossed the remaining space that lay between them. Lifting her head, she leaned in close, resting her smooth cheek against his stubbled one. Klaus stilled at her closeness, her light touch, and his hands settled around her waist. Caroline could hear Bonnie calling her name in the distance, but she ignored her friend's fear and surprise.

"If you ever touch Bonnie… so much as look at her the wrong way, I swear I will make you pay," she murmured near his ear.

"She hurt you, love. She has to atone for her sin," Klaus replied, his tone gentle.

Caroline dragged her cheek from his. Parting her lips, she kissed him, her mouth firm against his, her tongue thrusting, teasing and dominating. He moaned and tightened his hold on her hips, pressing her against him. Every ridge and line of muscle, every sinew skimming her and she gasped. She melded to him, her curves fitting smoothly into him and desire swelled in her. Caroline knew as she tempted him, she tempted herself to partake in the heavenly pleasure she experienced with him. He was the very devil, her ultimate weakness, but she pulled her lips from his, forced his hands away.

"If you ever want me to kiss you like that again, to be with you willingly, you will never threaten or touch any of my friends again."

Klaus stood before her panting, fists clenched, passion swimming in his eyes. "Do you have any idea what you are asking of me?"

"You want me at your side? To be yours? That will never happen if I, in any way, feel those I love are at risk."

"I will not be played with," he snarled.

She stared at him, meeting his anger and frustration head on with her own. "I'm not. I'm being painfully honest in the only way you seem to be able to understand."

"Caroline! What are you doing? Get inside!"

"I'm fine, Bonnie. Klaus and I are just coming to an understanding, aren't we?" Caroline offered him a tight smile.

"An understanding?" Bonnie accused. "That's not what it looked like from here."

"No. It's more like blackmail, isn't it, love?" Klaus threw back at her.

Caroline touched the side of his face, a tender caress. "Call it what you will. "

"I will not let you be alone with her."

"Are we back again to you trying to control me?" she asked with an annoyed sigh.

Klaus set his hands on her shoulders, gripping her tight enough she knew he meant what he said. "Not controlling. Making sure Bonnie doesn't try and kill you again."

"She won't."

"You want me to stay away from your friend? Then allow me to see for myself that she means you no harm."

Caroline laughed, forcing a frivolous and lighthearted sound. "You really want to stay and watch Bonnie and I talk about things of which you have no interest in at all."

He stared hard at her.

"You would be so bored listening to us talk about..." Caroline paused to take a breath, searching for an answer as to what exactly her and Bonnie could talk about that he would not want to hear. "About…the prom…who she danced with…if they were a good dancer…what she is going to wear to school next…what shade of lip gloss looks best on me? You know, boring things."

Klaus continued to glare at her, not in the least swayed by her performance.

She looked to him, making a concerted effort not to turn her gaze to Bonnie, the floor or anywhere else but his disbelieving face. She hoped that would be enough for him to believe her lie.

It wasn't.

He leaned in, his harsh voice not allowing argument. "I'm not going to let you anywhere near her unless you tell me why you are really here."

"As if you could stop me," she retorted, boldly shaking off his hold on her shoulders. She squirmed as he continued to study her. "Fine," she groaned. "I'm here to get Bonnie to communicate with the witch. Get her to stop trying to kill me."

The muscles along Klaus's jawline pulsed. "Do you have a death wish? You are to do no such thing."

"Stop with the commands." Caroline snapped. "If I can just talk to the her, make her see reason, all this can stop." She kept silent on the whole hybrid situation and how the witch could tell her how the Sire bond was broken.

"That witch," Klaus spat, "wants to destroy us. She will stop at nothing to see you dead." He turned to look at Bonnie. "Don't even think of trying to communicate with that abomination!"

Bonnie shook her head. "Of course not. I had no idea that is what Caroline wanted."

Caroline threw her hands in the air, beyond irritated. "Don't any of you get it? We need to deal with this head on and go right to the source. She will not stop and I am not going to live my life in fear of her next attack."

"She's right. If Damon and Stefan were here they would say the same thing," Bonnie sighed.

"They're. Not. Here." Ice coated Klaus's voice. "And they will never have a say where Caroline is concerned."

"This is my life we are discussing and I am not going to spend the rest of it hiding." Caroline glanced at her friend. "Can you talk to the witch? Or do you need to channel her?"

"I won't channel her."

Klaus grinned at Bonnie. "Good girl."

"But, I can talk to her. Ever since last night she won't leave me alone. She wants to talk to you more, Caroline."

"Wonderful. Then that is settled."

"No!" Klaus barked. "I forbid it."

"Seriously? Are you really going to take that route with me? Do you not know me at all?"

He groaned. "Caroline…" Klaus paused; his face drawn tight, as if the next words he were about to speak caused him great pain. "Please, don't do this."

"What are you so afraid of?" With an almost knee-jerk reaction she took his hand. "You heard Bonnie. She won't channel the witch. It's just a conversation."

Klaus gazed down at their entwined fingers. "If you must do this, I want you to promise me that you will not take anything she says seriously. She will stop at nothing to destroy me and hurt you."

"I already know what you did to her daughter. How you took away her life." Caroline withdrew her hand from his, not even hiding her sadness at his actions from so long ago. "That she seeks revenge upon you. What more is there to know?"

"Who knows what lies she will tell to make her cause seem just, to poison what we have."

Caroline frowned, stepping away. "I think you will manage to do that quite well on your own." Turning her back on him, she stepped into the screened porch attached to the front of Bonnie's house.

Klaus started to follow her, only to be stopped by Bonnie shutting the screen door in his face. "I don't think so. You can stay out here."

"I am not about to be left outside," Klaus argued. "I am not asking for entrance to your house —."

"Which you will never get," Bonnie interjected with a cold, satisfied smile.

"Let me in."

"I don't think so. You can stay out here with your hybrids."

"Don't make me force my way in. That won't be pleasant for anyone."

"This is my porch, and if I want, you will stay out here. You have no authority here." Bonnie looked to Caroline for direction. "What do you want me to do? Should he stay out here?"

Caroline glanced at Klaus, registered the frustration that crackled of him, a frenzy of lightening at the onset of a storm. He meant it and she had no doubt he would burn down Bonnie's house in retaliation for not being allowed into the screened porch. "He won't have access to your house? Just the porch?"

"Right. It is kind of considered a free space, but if you want I can try and keep him out here or we can go into the house."

"Caroline," Klaus threatened. "I am going to be part of this conversation with the witch one way or another."

She pursed her lips, considering all the ways Klaus could seek his revenge on Bonnie and she couldn't risk it. Besides, what would it hurt to have him here? This mess was all because of him anyway. "You will behave?"

"If by behave you mean protect you, then yes, I am going to behave."

"Fine. Let him in."

Bonnie swept her head to the side, evaluating Klaus. "Okay, but don't give me a reason to regret this."

Klaus held out his hands, a gesture of appeasement. "I am only here to observe and keep Caroline safe."

Bonnie opened the screen door and stepped aside. With a satisfied smile, Klaus entered the porch, his hybrids moving to stand at attention in front of the door to the screened porch.

"Have a seat." Bonnie gestured for them to sit down.

Having Klaus with her at her friends made Caroline uneasy. The normally homey atmosphere of the front porch, the wooden rocking chair and wicker furniture, the dried flowers and herbs that hung from the ceiling, offered her none of the usual comfort. She plopped herself down one of the wicker, cushioned couches she normally sat in. Klaus sat down next to her and threw his hand over the back of her shoulders, completely ignoring her irritation.

"Klaus," she hissed at him, only to receive a mischievous grin in return.

Bonnie took a seat on the wicker chair across from them, casting Klaus a look of complete hatred and distaste. "I saw flashes of the two of you together in the past. The witch, and by the way, her name is Mary-Celeste, has been quite forthcoming about your previous relationship."

A tremble of horror crept through Caroline. Had she seen that night of the masked ball? The night Klaus had given her a taste of the pleasure that came with being with him. "How forthcoming?" She squeaked out.

"Thankfully, not that forthcoming." Bonnie shuddered with her own horror. "Still, this isn't a sight – the two of you together – that I will ever get comfortable with."

"We…we aren't together," Caroline hastily assured her friend.

"After that kiss outside?" Klaus glanced at her, a cunning expression on his face. "I didn't realize that you went around using passionate kisses to blackmail people you weren't in a relationship with."

"Now, that is something I wish I could un-see," Bonnie grumbled.

Color flooded into Caroline's cheeks. Embarrassed and filled with shame, she stared at her boots. "I…I —."

"It's okay, Caroline." Bonnie gave her a comforting smile before continuing, "I don't understand this, but for some reason you saw something in him long ago and because you never fulfilled your life's path, you've been brought back. You're somehow tied to him."

"See love, even Bonnie can see the truth," Klaus smirked, settling his arm further around Caroline, his fingertips lightly tracing a design on her shoulder. Through the fabric of her jacket his touch scorched a tattoo into her skin. "We are bound together."

Bonnie leaned forward, setting her hands on her knees. "Only until I can untie you and set Caroline free."

Klaus laughed. "You overestimate you abilities."

Warring emotions of hope and relief versus a strange emptiness and desolation battled it out in Caroline's heart. To be free of Klaus and with Tyler forever – isn't that what she truly wanted? Wasn't that where her ultimate happiness lay? She worried she no longer knew anymore. "Would that free me from Mary Celeste's wrath? Keep me alive?"

"I don't know. Let's ask her." Bonnie sat back in her chair and closing her eyes she lifted her head to the heavens, taking deep breaths. A violent shudder racked her small frame.

"Bonnie?" Caroline whispered.

"Shhhh, sweetheart. She is centering herself so the witch comes through clearer, but can't possess her."

Jerking her head down, Bonnie's eyes flew open, the pupils slightly dilated. "Caroline…she keeps repeating that you must die even as she apologizes for your death again at her hands."

"But why?" Caroline shivered at the strange lilt in Bonnie's tone. Her friend was physically here and while she wasn't possessed, she was mentally somewhere else.

"Mary-Celeste says that he must not be allowed to be happy. That he must suffer by losing what he loves most, again and again. It is his eternal punishment for the lives lost, the pain he has caused."

"What he loves most?" Caroline scoffed. "I am hardly that."

Bonnie smiled a chilling smile. "You are the light in his darkness, his one chance at love and happiness."

"What if I swear to never give in to his will? Leave him forever?"

Klaus tightened his hold on her shoulders, growling softly.

"You couldn't even if you wanted to," Bonnie insisted, her voice taking on a sad, dreamy quality. "You are drawn to him and your light shines even brighter with him. Even God's most beloved angel couldn't resist the lure of the darkness and you will fall just as Lucifer did. For that you must die."

"Enough, Witch!" Klaus barked, every muscle in his body taunt. "You will not touch her."

"Son of Satan! She will not live out the month," Bonnie cackled. Startling at the sound of her own laughter she shook her head, giving Caroline an apologetic look. "Sorry. She is so strong in my mind."

"It's fine." Caroline laid a calming hand on Klaus's knee and he settled his fingers over hers, but his anger remained. "Mary-Celeste, you would kill me just to have your revenge? Will my death really bring you peace?"

"Why must you fight it, child? Do you not wish him to pay? Have you forgiven him already for the pain he has caused you and those you love?"

Klaus attempted to stand up, pulling Caroline to follow. "That is enough, Bonnie. End this now."

"Not yet," Caroline commanded, yanking her fingers from his. "Sit down, Klaus."

He hesitated for only a moment, but the steel in her voice brought him back to his seat.

Caroline considered Mary-Celeste's words. Had she forgiven Klaus? Did she no longer wish for his suffering, his death? He had brought about so much damage, so much death how could she even begin go let any of to it go? Yet, in a way she had. Being around him, seeing another side of him, perhaps, even his humanity had changed her perception of him.

"Maybe I have forgiven him a little, but I have seen him as you never have," Caroline argued. "I have witnessed his joy, anger, and even his own suffering. Who are you or even I to be judge and jury, handing out punishment? Doing so makes us no better than him at his worst. If he can love as you say, maybe our forgiveness will bring about his redemption."

Klaus took her hand in his, his fingers squeezing hers. "Caroline…I…" he croaked out, words seeming to fail him.

"I didn't say you had my complete forgiveness," she retorted.

Bonnie fixed her blank gaze on Caroline and laughed, a bitter sound of pain and heartbreak. Mary-Celeste was coming through her friend so clear now.

"Are you still here, Bonnie?"

"Yes, I'm here. I am trying not to channel her, but her emotions are very overwhelming at times. She wants to know if you think he can change? If you think Klaus can be redeemed?"

Caroline stole a look at him, only to find him staring right back at her expressionless, made of stone. "I don't know."

"This needs to stop, Caroline," Klaus's eyes shone with fury, his voice practically a growl. "End this now, if not for yourself, then for Bonnie. The witch grows stronger the more you talk to her."

"If you don't believe in his redemption, all is not lost for you yet, child." Bonnie grinned, a sick perversion of a smile she had never seen before on her friend. "Shall I push you further? Force you to see reality? The monster beneath the pretty face and words?"

"No, I know it is there," Caroline whispered as she studied Klaus. He looked almost angelic at times; a boy even, but there was darkness in him. Evil, in the bright blue of his eyes, the curl of his soft, firm lips. His words, his kisses and touch, while gentle and caring with her also came from someone capable of cruelties she couldn't begin to understand.

"There are things you can't even imagine he did. Crimes he committed long ago that you should know about."

Caroline's insides clenched so hard she saw black spots before her eyes. "Please, don't tell me."

"But you need to know. Maybe this is even a more fitting punishment for him thaen your death," Bonnie mused, and Caroline knew Mary-Celeste was truly with them now, possessing her friend. "To have you alive, never able to forgive. To never have the love that he craves so much from you."

"That's enough from you! This little question and answer session is over," Klaus roared. His rage coated the air in the room like a fur pelt. Jumping to his feet, he advanced on Bonnie. "Send the witch back to the hell from where she came, Bonnie."

"Silence, devil spawn!" Mary Celeste snapped her fingers once and then twice. Bright light filled the room, a camera flash, and Klaus flew backwards against the wall with a thud.

Black veins popped around Klaus's eyes as he tried to move, only he seemed to be trapped.

"Klaus?" Caroline stood up, rushing towards him. Fear surged through her at his attempts to break free of whatever magic it was that held him in place. To see him this way, powerless, destroyed her.

"Caroline! Don't come any closer." Klaus's entire body fought the invisible bonds that held him fast in a web of magic. "Bring Bonnie back."

"Bonnie? Are you still here?" Caroline took several steps towards where her friend sat.

Bonnie turned her vacant gaze from where Klaus was pinned against the wall to stare at her. Caroline fought back her horror at seeing not a spark of life or anything resembling Bonnie in her friend's eyes.

"Can you remember long ago, Caroline? All the way back to the 1500's? Your innocent love for this monster blooming amidst the waning years of Elizabeth's court?"

The low, hypnotic lull to Bonnies voice dulled Caroline's senses, freezing her in her tracks. She slowly blinked, the movement painfully bringing the past springing to life. "I remember."

"Three days he was gone. Three days you fretted and worried for him, while all around you death reigned. Six junior courtiers were found torn to pieces."

"Witch!" Klaus struggled even more frantically to free himself. "Continue down this path and I will drag you from the spirit world and visit on you such tortures you will beg to be released to hell."

"I remember it." A terrible feeling erupted in Caroline's gut, a bubble of knowledge slowly rising inside of her. "I did worry. Frances, Ursula, Edmond, Gregory, Lettice and Martin…all gone. I thought you were lost to me forever, like them." Tears tickled her lashes. She could still see them clearly. Frances's shy giggles, Ursula's boldness and Edmond's crush on her. Gregory's desire to enter the priesthood, Martin's fondness for almond comfits and Lettice's freckled nose.

"They never found the murderer." Bonnie turned her head to look upon Klaus.

Caroline stepped towards Klaus, each step heavier than the last, until she stood in front of him. He ceased his struggling at her approach, sighing as her fingertips grazed his rough cheeks. Cupping his face, she stared into the darkness in his eyes, penetrating the shadows for the truth. He didn't look away. He defiantly held her gaze and she knew. Knew without being told.

Her hands fell from his face with a mournful cry "They were my friends. How could you?" She trembled everywhere, hot and cold in equal measures possessing her. "If you cared so much for me back then why would you wish to hurt me?"

"Because causing pain is what he does. All he knows to do." A pleased smile sprawled across Bonnie's face.

"Caroline." Klaus attempted to go to her, only to snarl when he realized he was still frozen in place.

"Now do you see?" Bonnie asked, her voice triumphant. "Do you understand why he must pay?"

Caroline wiped at the tears now streaming down her cheeks.

"Bonnie," Klaus commanded, his muscles rippling and straining against the magical hold on him. "You need to come back. Send away Mary-Celeste. Caroline needs you."

"She will never be yours now. I have made sure of it," Bonnie gasped out and her eyelids blinked rapidly. Her head shook from side to side and she fell forward slightly in her chair, a kind of calm engulfing her. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked directly up at Caroline, her gaze now clear. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen."

Klaus fell to the floor at Bonnie's return, the magic that held him in place ceasing. Flying to his feet, he stood in front of Caroline. "Love," he crooned. "I never wanted you to find out this way."

Caroline stood motionless before him, paralyzed by the horror of what he had done so long ago. "Why? They were innocent. Why did you need to kill them?"

With the back of his hand, Klaus stroked one of her tear-stained cheeks to wipe away her tears. The gentle gesture of comfort so at odds with the savagery that existed within him terrified her. The hands that so lovingly swept over her nude body last night, worshipping every part of her now dripped with blood. The blood of her friends. Now that she knew, they would never really be clean of that taint. Ripping herself away from him, she flashedlew to the other side of the room as far away from him as she could get.

Klaus stared at the distance between them, running his fingers through his hair. Opening and closing his mouth several times, he tried to speak only to fail.

"You murdered six people, who I cared about and you have nothing to say? No reason for your actions?" Caroline accused, glaring at him through her tears.

He flinched and started to pace. His agitation growing with every stride back and forth on the small porch, a wild beast caught in a trap. The floor boards creaked under his steps, the little sounds of nature from outside stilling as if they recognized the dangerous creature in their midst.

"I never intended to kill them," Klaus blurted. "It was never my plan."

"Then why?"

"Don't you see?" Klaus stopped pacing to stand directly in front of her. "I hated you, hated myself. I was fighting all these feelings you arose in me. Someone had to pay so I could realize what I should have known all along - we were meant to be together."

"You killed people to prove you cared for me?" Caroline sagged against the wall, falling to her knees at her deadly realization, not even registering the hardness of the wood plank floorboards under her knees. "If you never met me, my friends would have lived?"

Klaus knelt in front of her. "Love, please. You can't think of it that way. Our meeting, it was destined. You heard Bonnie. We are tied together."

"I can't…" Caroline took a shaky breath, swallowing back her tears. "You murdered those that I loved, with no thought of how it would hurt me."

"That was before I knew, before I understood how much you meant to me." He stole one of her hands, pressing it to the side of his face. "We can get past this. I promise you."

Caroline lightly ran her thumb over the curve of his cheek, his stubble a mix of softness and prickles. The involuntary caress startled her from the magnetic pull he had on her and she yanked her hand back. "How can you possibly think I could ever get past this when you haven't changed at all? Just today, you planned to hurt Bonnie. One of my dearest friends without any regard to my feelings."

"She tried to kill you," Klaus objected, leaning in he touched his forehead to hers. "And I have changed. You are my weakness, the one thing that could destroy me and yet I want you in my life for all eternity. You force me to see things, feel things that no one else can. Love, please..."

"You killed my friends before because you couldn't deal with your feelings. What is to stop you from doing it again?"

"I swear…I will never touch them."

"You lie," Caroline said, her voice breaking as she flung herself away from him and stood up. "You're killing Elena with every drop of blood you steal from her."

Klaus rose to his feet, facing her. "It is only a little blood, and she will make more of it."

"You don't get it. You won't ever get it," Caroline sobbed. "That is why you and I will never be together."

"You don't mean that."

Klaus tried to take her take her hand and she flashed to the other side of the room, putting as much physical distance between them as she could. His touch, his presence, it did things to her, made her forget the monster within him.

"From now on, stay away from me and stay away from my friends."

He stepped gingerly towards her. "You know that is not going to happen."

"Leave me alone. I mean it."

"Sweetheart," Klaus murmured, turning his magnetic gaze on her, his eyes trying to suck her in, steal her very will.

"No. You don't get to talk to me anymore. Or, look at me like that. We are done."

"Caroline?" Bonnie rose from her wicker chair, swaying on her feet.

She rushed to her friend's side, reaching her just as Bonnie fell into her chair, her eyes rolling back into her head. A trickle of blood flowed from her left nostril, a river of red.

"Bonnie? Are you okay?" Caroline cried, turning to look at Klaus when her friend didn't respond. "What's wrong with her?"

He joined her, taking Bonnie's wrist to measure her pulse. "I don't know."

"Well, do something!"

"What would you have me do?"

Bonnie gasped, her eyes blinking open. Glancing down at Klaus's grip on her, she shuddered and jerked her hand away as if his touch burned her. "Don't ever put your hands on me again."

Klaus regarded the witch, a strange inquisitive look on his face.

"Are you okay, Bonnie? You're bleeding."

"Sorry. That happens sometimes." Bonnie grabbed a tissue from the box at the side table next to her chair and wiped at her nose, her hand trembling.

"Can I do something? Get you something?"

"She's fine." Klaus hunched down on his knees in front of Bonnie "So, witch, what was this little display?"

Caroline cast a withering glance in Klaus's direction before gathering Bonnie's hands in hers. They were icy to the touch, a sharp contrast to her friends wildly, racing pulse. "What's wrong?"

Bonnie gripped her fingers tightly, the slight pain catching Caroline by surprise. "Mary Celeste."

"What? Is she still here?"

Klaus gaze sharpened, his jaw clenching as he continued to stare at Bonnie. "It's more that that, isn't it? What did you see?"

"No. She is gone," Bonnie addressed Caroline, completely ignoring Klaus.

"Then what is it?"

"Someone else was there with her. Someone even more powerful. I have never felt such magic from another before."

"More powerful then your gram's?"

Sweat glistened on Bonnie's brow, a pallor painting her cheeks. "The only time I have felt something similar is when I drew on the magic of my family."

"Someone more powerful than the Bennett line," Klaus mused. "There is little in this world seeped in magic more than your ancestral line."

"What does it mean?" Caroline asked. "What did they want?"

"I don't know," Bonnie paused to chew at her lower lip. "It wasn't like they spoke to me. Rather I sensed they were there. I felt their power and their emotions. They rushed into me before I could shield myself from their sadness, regret and most of all their murderous intentions."

Klaus leaned in closer to Bonnie, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Murderous intent towards who? Caroline?"

"Yes, but—"

"That's it." Klaus swung his head to face Caroline. "You can't be allowed to be on your own anymore. I know you're angry with me right now, but I won't take any chances with your life. You need to come home with me. I promise —"

Bonnie produced an aggravated sound from the back of her throat, affectively cutting of Klaus. "You didn't let me finish. Whatever I sensed, whoever was letting Mary Celeste draw on their power, they are a threat to you too. For a moment, I could see inside of their thoughts… and they plotted your death. It was so vivid. I felt their satisfaction as they pierced your heart with a stake."

"They wouldn't be the first to wish my death," Klaus said wryly, rising to his feet. "Unfortunately, for them they are dealing with the original hybrid. There is nothing that can take me down."

"Except the white oak stake," Caroline whispered and Bonnie squeezed her fingers before releasing them. It was a warning. A warning to stay silent. Damon must have told Bonnie about the stake. Did she know about his crazy plot too?

"Damn good thing there is nothing left of that tree anymore." His bold, nonchalant tone was at odds with the tense lines furrowed in his forehead.

Guilt stung Caroline, bees that swarmed and pricked at her dishonesty in not speaking up, telling the truth about the stake that existed and her role. That she was to be the one that used it on him, his carefully chosen executioner.

"It will be okay, Caroline. Damon and Stefan, all of us will keep you safe." Bonnie gave Caroline a reassuring glance, misreading her silent reaction as fear.

"I will keep her safe," Klaus retorted. "She is coming home with me."

"You are insane if you think I am going to let you anywhere near me now." Caroline rose to her feet, her anger with him winning out against her guilt. "I will come to no harm with the protection of my friends. Unless that harm is from you."

"Your friends have nothing to fear from me. Not now," Klaus bit out. "Especially, if you come home with me."

Caroline tapped her foot against the wood floorboards, the sound reverberating off the side and roof of Bonnies house. "So if I don't come home with you they have something to fear?"

"No." Klaus fisted his hands. "I promise you I shall not touch them, ever."

"Except Elena?"

"Stop bringing her into this. It has nothing to do with her."

"You just don't get it to you," Caroline cried, her hands angled on her hips. "It has everything to do with her."

"Caroline," Klaus cajoled, stepping closer to her.

How he looked at her. His blue eyes smoldered, swirled with anger, desire and a rawness that bared a part of him entirely unknown to her. That look, it gnawed at her, greedily consuming her fight. It made her want to give in to him, but her fear and the horror of his betrayal long ago couldn't be forgotten. He had forever damaged what little relationship they had.

"That's enough. I am not going anywhere with you." Caroline forced herself to look away from Klaus. "Bonnie, I'm sorry, but I need to go."

"Let me go with you," her friend replied, standing up.

Caroline shook her head. "Thanks, but no."

"Are you sure? I can call Elena?"

"I'll call her later. Right now, I just want some time alone." Caroline flashed her a small smile and walked towards the screen door. The light blurred and Klaus stood in front of her, blocking her exit. "That alone time? That applied to you too. Get out of my way."

Klaus looked down at her, his chin set in a stubborn line. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not." Caroline tilted her head, matching his stern look with her own defiant one.

"Try me, sweetheart."

"You're not coming with me and do you want to know why?"

Klaus stared back at her, his face an impassive mask.

"I'll tell you why. In less than twenty-fours, I have been stabbed, almost dying at the hands of a witch who you wronged and then – surprise – I find out I am a reincarnation of a girl you were obsessed with in the 1500's. After all this, when I have finally accepted this strange truth and the memories that come with it, I learn that the evil thing that murdered my closest friends back then is the one person I cared about." Caroline held up her finger to shush Klaus as he started to speak. "And it is all my fault they are dead.

"No, love."

From the mournful regret in the hollow of his voice, the tortured shadows in the blue of his eyes, she knew that her suffering and sorrow haunted him. Her pain hurt him, but it wasn't enough.

"So you can see how I might want some time alone. Now, if you will move out of my way, I want to go home."

"Caroline."

"Just don't," she snapped. "Don't fight me on this. You have enough hybrids at my house no one is ever going to attempt anything there. I need time and you are going to give it to me."

Klaus wanted to argue with her, Caroline could tell that every bone in his body was screaming at him to stop her from leaving. So when she took a step closer to him, closer to the door, it shocked her when he moved aside.

"Tonight. We'll talk tonight."

Caroline didn't even stop to argue with him. Her back straight as a ruler, she stalked towards her car, a piece of her heart cracking off with every step she took away from Klaus.

* * *

><p>I apologize that this update is so short, but I really wanted to post something for my birthday and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. You can expect another update very soon to finish out this chapter.<p>

Thank you to the wonderful and lovely Sci-Fi Christian and QueenofKlaroline for their editing work. I also need to thank maevelin for always giving me her thoughts and answering my questions. Last of all, I need to thank To be loved is to be destroyed for putting together my tumblr blog anastasiadreams and making me the most beautiful artwork for this story.

Another thank you goes to all my amazing reviewers 3littlepigs, Elelith, The Auburn Girl, Liky, Steph, S, TVD-klaroline-love, maevelin, 78, jessnicole, LoveDeb, Sturge4, epic sweetness712, UniQueMimI O.B.S.E.S.S.I.O.N, Kjsama, tauruskch, jessnicole, Imaginethis1026, MsCindz, angel1725, sasusakufan2357, McKenzieMac, lily94, redbudrose, ashlytorres24, KlarOlinelOver17, Sci-fi Christian, SharkGurl, moon2012, TwistedType, HeroineAddict, shanynde, klovec, KitsuneUndergrowth, LorenaLaufey and foureyedgirl01.


	14. Chapter 13

Caroline stormed into her house, slammed the door shut and dropped her purse on the floor with a thud. Cheeks still wet with tears, she flicked the switch on the wall and light flooded the kitchen.

"Oh, my God! Tyler?"

Her boyfriend perched in a chair next to the wall, his eyes yellow, feral. Muscles bulged in the black t-shirt he wore, tendons tight, rubber bands stretched close to breaking. Flanking him, stood a hybrid on each side and another perched on a stool, one leg crossed over the other.

"What the hell is going on, Caroline?"

A fist slammed into Tyler's face, and he roared. The call of rage vibrated through the small kitchen and plaster snowed from the ceiling.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Caroline yelled. "Don't touch him!"

"You know this guy?" The hybrid on the stool – who seemed to be the leader - asked with a jerk of his head towards Tyler. "We caught him prowling around outside."

"Let him go. Now."

At her demand, the hybrid stood up from his stool, running his fingers over his chin. "I don't know if Klaus would like that. He said you were to be protected at all costs."

Caroline stood straighter, throwing back her shoulders. "You were told I am to be obeyed too, and if you don't release him it will be your heart that Klaus rips out next."

Her steely countenance impressed the hybrid and he communicated a silent order to his friends. With identical snarls, they stepped away from Tyler, taking positions on each side of the kitchen door with a predatory stance.

"Now get out of my house."

The hybrid in charge shook his head. "I can't do that."

"Do you have any idea what your master will do to you if you defy me?"

Tyler stood up, flexed his muscles and cracked his neck. "What's going on, Caroline? I want answers and I want them now."

"Is he threatening you?" The hybrid leader asked, squaring off against Tyler and fisting his hands at his sides. "Because I can take care of him for you."

Tyler responded in like, taking a menacing step forwards, muscles taunt.

"Hey! That's enough." Caroline inserted herself into the middle of the impending brawl. "You're not helping, Tyler. Just be quiet for a minute and let me handle this."

Both hybrids growled in response, stiff and wary as they eyed each other.

With an angry toss of her head, Caroline faced the hybrid in charge. "I meant what I said. Get out of my house." When the hybrid leader hesitated, she added, "If you don't leave, I'm going to have to tell Klaus that you didn't follow my orders and he will not be happy."

The hybrid hesitated, and she stared him down with her most arrogant queen-like look. The one she hoped said she should be obeyed at all costs or else. To her relief, it swayed him because he bowed slightly and started backing towards the door. Stopping at the threshold, he punched a fist in Tyler's direction, a less then subtle warning. His friends followed him, giving her boyfriend matching threatening glares.

"That's it," Tyler snapped, striding towards Klaus's hybrids.

"No." Caroline stepped in front of her boyfriend, laying a gentle hand on his chest. "Let them go."

Tyler shook off her touch. "Fine, but you need to start talking."

"I'm not sure I know where to start," she sighed.

His eyebrows rose. "Maybe start with why Klaus' lackeys are in your house and why they obey you now? I think that is a great place to start."

"Wait. First, did you break the sire bond?"

"Don't change the subject, Care."

"I need to know." She bit her lip and prepared herself for the worst. Their whole relationship hinged on this one detail. If he still served Klaus, they would never have a chance together. Not unless the original hybrid was dead. She shivered at the thought, the web of ice it spun around her heart, freezing out her remaining anger at Klaus.

Tyler cocked his head, his dark brown eyes searching hers and anxiety knotted her stomach at what he might see written on her face.

"Please, tell me you did," she begged.

A smiled tugged at his lips, flaring into a full-blown grin. "Yeah, I did."

Joy burst inside of her, her happiness for him bringing a grin to her face. Tyler had done what had never been done before. He would now have a chance at a life of his own. They could be together. Forever. Her hand fluttered to her heart at her sudden clarity of what that truly meant. Whatever she had with Klaus, whether he lived or died, it would truly be over.

"Aren't you happy?"

His accusation thankfully yanked her back to reality and she eagerly threw her arms around his neck. "Of course I am. This is the best news I have had in months."

Tyler held her for the briefest moment, his chin resting on her hair, before he thrust her away. "Now, tell me what happened while I was gone."

Her happiness crumbled at his rejection of her affection. Fumbling for the right words, her thoughts a jumble of puzzle pieces, she tried to think of how best to tell him all that had happened since he left.

"Care." Tyler's smile was gone, his mouth now drawn in a stern line.

"Um, maybe you want to sit down? Should we go sit on the couch? The kitchen isn't really great for conversing. The chairs don't let you get comfy enough," she rambled.

"I'm fine right here."

Caroline took a deep breath, preparing herself for the worst. Would he still care for her, want her when he knew the truth? "While you were gone, Klaus got all stalker-like and developed this weird obsession for me."

"Huh?"

"Yeah. Um, he thinks he is in love with me."

The corners of Tyler's lips twitched and a bark of laughter followed.

"What?" Caroline blinked in confusion at his reaction.

More laughter followed, deep and uproarious.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Caroline slapped at his chest, hard enough to make him cough. "I am totally loveable."

"Of course, you are. That's not why I am laughing."

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed with the merriment that still sparkled in his eyes. "Then why are you?"

"You know."

"No, I don't. " She started tapping her foot. "Why don't you explain it to me?"

"Care, the guy is crazy. He doesn't love you. If anything, he is messing with you to get to me."

She flourished her index finger in front of him to emphasize her next words. "Let me get this right – so basically you are saying that it is inconceivable that Klaus could possibly find me attractive and fall in love with me? Or is it that I am too dumb to realize that he is using me to get to you?

"That isn't what I said," Tyler countered, the wary look on his face the same one he always got when he expected her to blow up at him.

"I know what you said."

Tyler touched her shoulder, placating her. "Any guy would be crazy not to fall in love with you. I don't know what I would have done this last year without you by my side."

"Yeah, I don't know either," she relented; a small smile perched on her mouth.

"Now, don't take this the wrong way —."

Caroline pouted, nothing good ever came from that sentence.

"Is it at all possible that Klaus' sudden obsession with you, this so called love is his way of provoking me. I mean - he knows what you mean to me. How much seeing you together would hurt me."

_Would hurt me. _

The words pounded in her head, hammering guilt with ever beat. Wasn't that what she had done with her actions? She knowingly cheated on Tyler with her lips, her body, heart and soul. Again and again in a frenzied, uncontrollable rush of lust. How could she possibly have any right to be annoyed with Tyler when he had only drawn logical conclusions? She was a horrible person and she needed to tell him the truth now.

"What's wrong?"

Blinking back the hot beginnings of tears, she looked up at her boyfriend. His concern, the tenderness in which he gazed upon her nearly brought her to the floor in excruciating guilt.

"There is something I need to tell you." Bands of guilt tightened over her heart with dizzying pain and she closed her eyes.

Warm arms enveloped her and she let them. Laying her head on Tyler's chest she breathed in his scent, the musky cologne he always wore. She prayed that once she told him the truth they would still have a chance. If she could just get him to see that all that bound her to Klaus was a centuries old relationship. One that led to her death. Something she wasn't about to have repeated. Whatever existed between her and Klaus, it needed to end now.

"I missed you so much, Care."

Tyler lowered his head, leaning in for a kiss. She knew she shouldn't let him near her without telling him the truth. Yet, she needed this. Surely, his kiss would cleanse her sins; the heat of their connection purifying her blackened soul so she could be his again Caroline parted her lips, eager for the touch of his mouth.

With a little moan, his mouth slashed over hers, his tongue penetrating her lips with the eagerness of a starving man. She tried to kiss him back, but something didn't seem right. The more he kissed her, the less she responded. Passion, electricity, the burning and yearning that always sparked between them died without even a whimper. It was wrong. All wrong and he didn't even seem to notice.

Caroline tried. She forced herself to feel something, anything, other then this deep emptiness inside.

Tyler's insistent lips left her mouth and relief flew through her, bringing with it an overwhelming guilt she didn't know how to carry. It cemented her, drowning her in an ocean of despair.

"Wait, Tyler. We need to talk."

"We'll talk later," he murmured in-between kisses along her jawline, moving further down the curve of her neck.

Fire, white hot and intense, burst through her skin at the site of Klaus's healed bite mark.

Tyler's lips ceased their caresses and with a sharp intake of breath he stilled. A marble statue, his mouth hovered over the exact spot desecrated by Klaus's fangs the night before.

Hot and then cold, so cold chills skittered up her spine came the realization that somehow he knew. Instead of relief, all she knew was despair and more guilt. She should have told him the truth immediately, not letting him find out this way.

He thrust himself away from her with a roar of rage, hurt, pain and betrayal, all intermingling into a sound she knew she would remember forever. With a violence Caroline didn't know Tyler possessed, his fist smashed into the wall alongside her head, his arm sinking all the way in to the elbow. He missed her head by centimeters and she knew it was intentional. Even now, faced with evidence of her unfaithfulness, yellow fire leaping in his eyes, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her.

"Tyler," she whimpered, attempting to touch his chest, somehow soothe the beast within.

"No!" He withdrew his hand from the wall and dust and wood splinters clouded the air. Flexing his fingers back and forth into a fist he started to pace in front of Caroline. Growling, ridges of muscle forming, he appeared to be stretching, transforming into his primitive half.

"I can't believe he did this. I will kill him."

Tendrils of fear snaked their way around Caroline's heart, squeezing, suffocating her. She needed to stop Tyler, keep him from Klaus if he was to live another day. A fight between them would resemble nothing more than that of a boot stomping on an ant.

"Tyler, stop it," Caroline entreated. Striding to a spot directly in front of him, she forced him to look at her.

"Don't come near me," Tyler snarled. He wrapped his hands around her waist like a vise, picking her up like rag doll to move her out of his way.

Wind roared and the door to the Forbes house banged open so hard it left an indentation in the wall behind it. A blur of black formed next to Caroline and cool air flickered over her skin. Before she could react, Tyler released her, leaving her stumbling.

Angry roars and growls filled her ears, wild beasts in a fight to the death. Caroline righted herself, staring in horror at Klaus. His hand clenched Tyler's throat, dangling her boyfriend high in the air.

"You will never touch her again," Klaus snarled.

Tyler's legs kicked out at his captor, his hands tearing at his sire's hold on his neck, a newborn puppy at the mercy of a wolf.

"Let him go!" Caroline yelled.

Klaus turned his head slowly to face her, his pupils spiked in gold. "Not until he learns his lesson."

"What lesson is that? Not to touch his own girlfriend?" Caroline snapped, taking pleasure in the flare of hurt in his eyes. "Let him go, Klaus. I mean it."

"Fine." Faking a polite smile, he elegantly released his hold on his prisoner. Tyler fell to a heap on the ground, sputtering and choking.

Caroline rushed to kneel at her boyfriend's side and he lurched away from her. "I'm so sorry. I will make sure he doesn't touch you again."

With a groan, muscles straining, Tyler staggered upright and faced his sire. "You bit her," he spat.

"I know. And she loved it." Klaus taunted.

"You're nothing but a coward." Tyler wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Going after Caroline to get to me. "

"Is that what you think? That this is all about you?" Klaus laughed and shook his head in disbelief. "Do you want to tell him, love, or do you want me to do the honors?"

"Tell me what?"

Caroline swung her gaze to Klaus, her agitation turning to anger at the smirk on his face. He reveled in this, the torment of Tyler and the exposure of the their relationship. "Don't you dare? Not like this."

"Why not?" Klaus prowled towards her, malevolence in every step. "Isn't it time he knew about our past? How you professed your love for me. How you promised to be mine forever."

Utilizing all her vampire strength and speed, Caroline jumped up and slapped him. The impact shook the walls and floor, sending the dishes from the kitchen shelves to the ground. Klaus didn't even wince. Instead, he caught her wrist on the recoil, lifting it to his lips for a kiss, his gaze steadfastly on her.

Caroline yanked her hand from him. "Tyler. It isn't what you think."

Roaring, her boyfriend didn't give her a chance to explain. He crouched and leapt at Klaus, counting on his Sire's distraction to give him an advantage. The two of them flew through the air, exotic creatures in flight. For a second, they hung suspended above Caroline before they crashed into the kitchen floor, cracking the ceramic tiles.

"Stop it!" Caroline yelled.

Colors swirled and blurred in a tornado of violence and blood, hybrid blood, scenting the air. Caroline's chest tightened, her heart splitting in two different directions, her loyalty and love for Tyler at war with the connection she shared with Klaus. Inhaling though her nose she sought to discover which of the hybrids she had been with now bled. Focusing on the heavy smell of blood, her discovery of the source did little to soothe the battle in her soul.

With a harsh cry, the fight ended as quickly as it began. Tyler lay at Klaus's feet, panting, his head bowed with blood dripping from a cut to his lip.

"You broke the sire bond."

The cold, quiet fury in Klaus' voice terrified Caroline. It was the prelude to what would only be Tyler's death.

"How did you do it?" Klaus demanded, wrapping his fingers around the hybrids throat, he yanked Tyler up from the floor.

"Stop it," Caroline snapped.

"You will have to kill me, because I will never tell." Defiant, Tyler didn't even struggle at Klaus's hold on his neck.

"That is easily done." Klaus tightened his grip, while his other hand plunged into Tyler's chest, tearing fabric, cracking bone and plunging into muscle. Blood spurted, spraying the pale yellow walls of the kitchen crimson.

"Stop it! I mean it!" Caroline yanked on Klaus' arm to pull it from Tyler's body, throwing all of her weight and power into the movement. "You promised not to ever touch my friends again. "

Klaus grimaced, his mouth thinning with frustration as he withdrew his hand from his former hybrid servant's chest cavity. Tyler slid to floor in a bloody heap of limbs.

"Just lay still. Everything is going to be fine," Caroline reassured her Tyler, rushing towards the refrigerator. "I am getting some blood for you."

"Don't bother. He is a hybrid and I didn't take his heart. He will heal fast enough." Klaus picked up a dishtowel crumpled on the kitchen counter, wiping the blood from his fingers with complete indifference before tossing it back where it came from.

Caroline glanced at Tyler worriedly to find it was true. Already rib bones were knitting, pink flesh spreading and stretching to cover the wound. He would be all right. With a sputter, choking, he spit out blood.

"Tyler. Are you okay?" Grabbing a hand towel from a hook by the kitchen sink she knelt next to her boyfriend. Attempting to wipe at the blood still dripping from his mouth she almost cried when he turned his gaze on her. The strange, distant look in his eyes was one she never wished to see on him again.

"I'll be fine now that I don't have to obey a psychotic coward anymore. " Even weak from blood loss and lying before the one thing that could destroy him, Tyler wouldn't back down.

"As fun as this has been, I think it is time we ended this little adventure." Klaus crossed his arms over his chest. "Admit defeat. You will stay away from Caroline or I will compel you to forget you were ever together."

"I would like to see you try." Tyler lifted his head, a challenge to his former Sire

"Tyler," Caroline warned.

"Caroline, did you let him drink from you?"

He spoke her full name. No longer was she "Care" to him, the endearment she had come to love. "It isn't what you think and I…I didn't know he was going to."

"But you told him you loved him? Let him feed from you. Like he said. Didn't you?"

Caroline wrung the dishtowel in her hands, twisting and untwisting the thin fabric. "Tyler. Those were two separate things. Let me explain —"

"Was this to get back at me? " he interjected. "For not being there when your father died?"

"No, of course not. How could you even think that?"

"It's the only way I can make sense of it." Tyler's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Why you would have been with him. "

Caroline sighed, lowering her head. "It was just once and it only happened because…" How could she even begin to tell him the truth? How she once loved Klaus centuries ago and overwhelmed with the desire for him that still lingered after all this time she slept with him, let him bite her. "I know it seems like it doesn't make sense, but if you just let me explain."

Tyler struggled to stand up, groaning in pain when he reached his feet. "It's way too late for that."

"Don't say that." Caroline implored. "I need to tell you the truth. Get you to understand. You see, back in the 1500's —""

"I don't even want to know." Tyler started to laugh, the emptiness in his laughter cutting her into millions of little pieces.

"Caroline," Klaus murmured, his voice soft, his brow furrowed as if her suffering caused him pain. She moved to stand up from the floor and he held out his hand to help her up.

She ignored the peace offering, stepping away from him and towards her boyfriend. "Tyler." At her approach, he backed away from her, his face contorted in disgust and a small sob escaped her mouth.

"Get out." Klaus stepped in-between them, facing Tyler. "You are never to come here again," he murmured in a low, hypnotic tone, using compulsion.

Tyler shook his head, a sneer on his lips. "Not until I tell Caroline the truth."

Klaus's eyes narrowed into slits.

"That bite he gave you. It isn't a normal bite. There is something magical —."

"That's enough," Klaus interrupted with a snarl. Stepping closer to Tyler he focused his gaze on his servant hybrid, attempting compulsion again. "Never speak to Caroline again or I will —."

"Sorry. That isn't going to work on me. I have been taking vervain for months," Tyler said snidely, before continuing to address Caroline, "The bite. I think he claimed you. Marked you in some way."

Shock crashed into Caroline, sending her head spinning. "What?"

Klaus hands settled around Tyler's throat again, squeezing. "Maybe I can't kill you, but I can make you suffer. Forever."

Brilliant purples and blues flushed Tyler's face and neck. His fingers clawed at Klaus's hands as his windpipe was crushed. The hissing sound of air brought Caroline back to reality.

"Let him go," she commanded, tilting her head up to give Klaus her coldest gaze.

A slow smirk sprawled across his face. "Of course, love." With a graceful flourish, he lifted each of his fingers one by one from around Tyler's neck.

Gasping, Tyler fell into the wall, using it to prop himself back up on his feet.

With relief, Caroline watched his color return to normal. She needed to get him out of here before he provoked Klaus enough to get himself killed

"You should go."

Tyler stared at her long and hard. "Is that what you want?"

If she agreed, there was no hope their relationship could ever be repaired. Yet, if she ever wanted him to be free of Klaus, happy to live a life of his own, she had to let him go. The knowledge shriveled to a dry husk the remaining piece of her heart that belonged to him.

Klaus stepped towards her, a shadow of darkness at her side and she gave the only answer she could.

"Yes."

Hurt and regret settled on Tyler's face, his eyelids briefly flickering closed at her response. "You will be okay?"

"Go. I can handle him."

Tyler took one last pained look at her. "Be careful, Caroline." Then dragging his gaze from her he pointed a finger at Klaus. "This isn't over. Don't think any of us will let you get away with this."

In a blur her boyfriend, no her ex-boyfriend was gone, the kitchen door swinging on its hinges.

"I apologize for the mess, love."

Caroline whirled to face Klaus. "How could you?"

"I didn't really hurt him. He will be good as new within the hour."

"That isn't what I meant! The bite you gave me. You didn't just drink from me, did you?"

Klaus hesitated, his blue eyes assessing her. "No."

"What did you do to me?" She accused, hands on her hips, fingers digging into her sides to stop her trembling.

"Caroline," Klaus rumbled, a low soothing, lull that had no affect whatsoever on her anger. "What I did, I did to protect you."

"And, that is?"

"I claimed you."

Caroline threw her hands in the air, gesturing wildly. "What does that even mean?"

"When I bit you, I marked you as my consort." At her confusion he continued, "It is a very old rite. One steeped in magic that is rarely practiced anymore. For a vampire and other supernatural creatures, it is essentially a vow to be together forever."

"Oh, God." The heat drained from her cheeks, a shudder of revulsion running through her.

"It's supposed to be an honor, sweetheart."

His bitterness and hurt at her reaction gave Caroline not even the slightest satisfaction. No. It only sent her anger soaring, a match to gasoline. "How dare you!"

"What? You were already a queen, now I made you my queen, ruler of all vampires, werewolves and hybrids."

"And I am supposed to be honored by this? You really are insane."

"Insane? I'm insane because I recognize what none of your friends or you can see? You were born to rule, to be at my side. Not live out a paltry existence here in this small hick town with some mediocre werewolf."

"I love this so called paltry existence. Everything was perfect until you showed up and that mediocre werewolf, he's not so mediocre that it kept you from choosing to make him a hybrid," Caroline retorted, her chest heaving with fury.

Klaus glared at her. "Something that will soon be rectified once he is dead."

"You will not touch him."

"What's to stop me? The Salvatore boys? They're practically newborns. Your witch? Even with the Bennett line she doesn't have enough power to protect your boyfriend. Or rather he's the ex-boyfriend now, isn't he."

"You promised you wouldn't touch those I loved and I will always love Tyler," Caroline taunted Klaus, knowing her arrow hit its mark when he flinched.

Klaus prowled towards her, elegant in his silky movements, his eyes daggers of ice. "Tell me the truth. You don't love him."

"Why? So you can kill him?" She should have been afraid, terrified at the quiet calm in his voice. He was on edge, his hurt driving him to the cold precipice of rage.

"No. So, I don't."

The lack of flourish as to how he would go about killing Tyler, no mention of ripped hearts or flayed intestines made clear how serious he was. Reality poked at her, needling through her anger and rage, forcing her to recognize that Tyler's life hinged on what she said next. Caroline forced herself to breathe, deep lungful breaths of oxygen she didn't need. "Don't kill him."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because — because," Caroline paused, her gaze met his. In his eyes, deep within, she swore she could see a kind of hope. A desperate yearning for something she didn't know she could give him. Her chest tightened, that uncomfortable feeling she always got when she was about to lie washed over her. "I don't love him."

Silence.

And then she was free. The tightness disappeared, her un-comfortableness draining away until all that remained was peace. She didn't love Tyler. Not anymore. Well, she still cared about him, but it was different then before. "I don't love him," she repeated, more to herself to confirm it, then for him to hear.

"I know, sweetheart."

Klaus smiled, a pleased grin that lit up his face, chasing away the dark. He looked happy, like he had been gifted something of great importance.

"So you won't touch him?"

"He is safe."

"Still, that changes nothing between us." Caroline's anger rose once more, clouding over any lingering peaceful feelings. "You bit me. Marked me like some kind of dog. Like you own me."

"It isn't like that," Klaus argued. "I crowned you, made us a couple in the only way supernatural beings can understand. My mark gives you protection. It is a threat to anyone seeking to harm you that they will have me to reckon with. It also creates a bond between us beyond just the physical."

"We don't need any other ties between us. It is enough that I have been brought back and have all these horrible memories."

"They can't all be horrible." Klaus took another step towards her, close enough his fingertips could graze her cheek. "I know you loved me. You proved it to me. The stolen kisses in the garden, the rides in the woods, the night of the masquerade – in the corridor, my fingers between your thighs."

Caroline jerked her head away bringing a frown to his face. "You tricked me into caring for you. The person you pretended to be…did he even exist? Did you kill him and take his identity?"

"No. It was only one of the many people I played throughout the centuries. And I never tricked you. You fell in love with me all on your own."

"I didn't love you," Caroline retorted and to her frustration she knew he could tell she was lying, so she continued, "I loved the person who I thought you were."

"Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night? As much as you want to deny the truth, you were drawn to me, to my true nature. You sensed it from the beginning and you could have run away, but you didn't even try. You gave yourself willingly. Light to dark, we were entranced with each other." Klaus moved in, bowing his head, his lips hovered near her ear. "And we still are."

"It has to stop," Caroline whispered, his words freezing her to the spot.

Klaus swept her hair back from her face, his thumb sliding down her neck, a caress that stopped at his invisible mark.

Heat erupted in her core, leaping into her veins, stoking a fire in her blood that only he could quench. "Please. I can't think when you do that."

"Love," he murmured.

Leaning in closer, his head lowered to her neck, the anticipation of the touch of his hot kiss on his bite spiked her lust to a fever pitch. She wanted to claw at his clothes, run her hands over his bare chest, know his body like her own. Somehow sate the deep hunger inside of her for him.

"No," she managed to whimper, and it was enough. Enough to give her the strength to rip herself from the pull of her desire. Caroline flung herself away from him and panting she stared him down. "I will not be manipulated by some stupid magical marking into being with you.

"It's not the mark that drives our passion. That was already there long ago," Klaus returned. "What we feel for each other, that is real and has nothing to do with the bite I gave you."

"Maybe not, but whatever we were, whatever I feel for you now, it doesn't change anything. This has to end."

The haze of desire that clouded Klaus's eyes, abruptly misted away. "That is impossible. We are forever. Eternal."

"Well, that eternal is ending now." Caroline rubbed at the healed bite mark. "I don't care how you do it, but you are removing this consort mark."

"It can't be done."

Caroline's shoved her finger in the air, pointing it at him. "Do you really think I believe that? After everything magical and supernatural I have seen the last few years? It can be removed and you're going to find out how. I refuse to spend eternity as your minion."

"It's not like that," Klaus bit out, his whole body rigid. "It makes you my queen, my equal in the eyes of the world and it carries with it my protection."

"Don't you get it? I don't want to be your anything. After everything that has happened how can you still not understand? We are done. I am done."

Klaus froze. "You don't mean that."

"I do." She steadied herself, standing even taller, all so he wouldn't notice her inner turmoil, how her heart betrayed her will.

"You can't mean that."

Caroline flinched at the hurt tone of his voice, the timbre so soft and broken she could barely hear it. He stared at her, his eyes always filled with life, were dead and empty as a night sky devoid of stars. It was too much.

"You need to go."

"Caroline…love, if you would let me explain about the bite."

"Seriously?" She took all her pain and sadness, twisting it into a force to be reckoned with. "There is no explanation for what you did. What you continue to do." She couldn't look at him, didn't want to see the effect of her words on him. A hard, teary lump formed in the back of her throat and she forced herself to march to the door.

Flinging it open, she stared unseeing into the dusky light left of the day.

He walked towards her, each step eating away her resolve. Still, she didn't bend. She hardened her heart; clad it in steel, so that when he passed by her she felt not even a dent.

"This isn't over," he murmured, not a demand or a threat. For the first time ever it was a request, a plea.

Caroline could take no more and she slowly closed the door. She waited until she heard him give orders to his servant hybrids and drive away before she gave in. Chest heaving, tears burning, she slid to the floor. Burying her head in her hands she cried for the past, the present and what might have been.

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* * *

><p>.<p>

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It was late. A little past midnight when the sounds of a scuffle outside broke the silence, the rustling so soft she hardly heard it. Not yet asleep, it took only a second for her fight or flight instincts to kick in. Never one to run away, she slid out of bed, aiming for stealthy in her bare feet. Tucking herself into a satin robe, she crept out of her room.

The gentle tapping at her the front door startled her, jolting her nerve endings into an anxious dance. Whoever stood outside must have bested the hybrids Klaus left in charge. Otherwise, they would be a prisoner right now. Which could only mean someone very powerful and strong was at her door. Only, what kind of villain came politely knocking?

The rapping loudened and Caroline couldn't ignore it any longer. Her silky nightclothes swishing around her ankles, she headed towards the door and undoing the lock she peaked outside.

Shadows clung to her visitor and she swallowed dryly, afraid of what kind of monster she faced. They stepped nearer to the door and the clouds slid from the moon revealing a sharp, chiseled jaw and cheekbones.

"Elijah?"

"Do forgive the intrusion, but I find it necessary that we talk."

Caroline opened the door wider. "Talk? Now?"

He offered her a polite smile. "I can't think of a better time then now. Unless of course you have company besides those unfortunates passed out on your lawn?"

Peering outside, she found her hybrid guards lying like corpses, their necks at strange angles. "No, no. Of course not."

"Won't you invite me in?"

"I…I can't. My mother isn't here."

"Actually, her presence isn't necessary for an invitation. I visited her here once before about a town matter. My request rather is for you. Ms. Forbes, will you allow me into your home?"

Elijah had been in her house before? Caroline processed this strange bit of information. She sometimes forgot how involved her mother was in the supernatural elements of Mystic Falls.

"Miss Forbes?"

His quiet, mannered voice brought to her attention her rudeness at leaving him standing outside waiting for her answer. "It's Caroline. And, yes. Do come in."

Caroline held the door wider and he stepped inside. In the elegant suit of a gentleman, he radiated power and she would be very stupid to think he was anything but dangerous. Elijah frowned and she took a cautious step backwards.

"Ah. There it is." He pointed to the light switch on the wall. "Might I?"

At her nod, he flicked the switch and light flooded the entryway and kitchen. "So much more civilized than standing in the dark, don't you think?"

"Um, sure." Caroline tensed, her nervousness marching a sickly path to her stomach when Elijah moved further into her house.

He took a few steps, pausing to observe the hole in the wall Tyler left and then he turned his head towards the kitchen.

It couldn't have been more of a disaster. Many of the ceramic floor tiles were cracked and while she had done her best to clean the blood off the walls and floors, a brown tinge remained.

"I see Niklaus has been here."

Elijah stated it so calmly and matter of fact, without any wonder or surprise that her mouth dropped open.

"He does tend to leave disaster in his wake when provoked," he added with a sigh.

"I don't know what I am going to tell my mother when she comes home," Caroline spoke out, her anxiety temporarily easing to be replaced with dismay as to how her parent was going to react.

Elijah tilted his head, a calculating look on his face while he took in all the damage. "Don't worry. I shall take care of it. I will send someone out as soon as we are done here."

"Oh. You don't have to do that."

"It is the least I can do." Then with a small nod of his head, the matter apparently settled, he turned his attention to her.

His dark brown eyes sized her up, rather like she was a strange specimen under a microscope. Or a puzzle he had yet to solve.

Fear crept inside of her, a thief stealing the little courage she had. She locked her knees together to keep from trembling, but she must have a little because her robe slipped from her shoulder revealing the spaghetti strap of her pale, ivory nightgown.

Elijah stepped forward and instinctively, prey facing a predator she backed away. One step and then two, before she realized how futile that was. An Original, he could easily have snapped her neck by now if he wished. Bolstered by that knowledge, her head jerked up and she stood still, facing him head on while he continued to advance towards her.

"So brave," he murmured. "I see it now. What a fool I was." With a wry twist to his mouth, he reached out to her.

Caroline stilled, ice encasing her, freezing her to the spot. If she still needed oxygen, she would have lost all ability to draw a breath when with deft fingertips he pulled her robe back up over her shoulder, covering her.

"You have nothing to fear from me, Caroline." Settling the thin, satin fabric closer to her neck, he startled. His eye went wide, pupils darkening with astonishment. "Niklaus."

The soft, shocked whisper of Klaus' formal name haunted her. It took on a life of its own, evoking centuries of pain, loss and regret. A single finger ghosted over her healed bite mark and fire leapt under her fragile skin. Elijah knew.

"Forgive me," he said at last, his hand drifting away from her neck. "I haven't seen a consort mark in centuries."

"You know what this is?"

"Yes. I am familiar with this kind of marking."

Elijah's cautious tone, the curious way he looked at her, like she was a delicate and rare piece of porcelain prickled her with annoyance. "What is it with this bite? What does it mean?"

Always cool and unruffled, Caroline could tell her questions unsettled Elijah from the slight, hardly noticeable twitch of a vein in his forehead.

"He didn't tell you?"

"Maybe? Kind of? But, I'm not sure I can trust what he said. Especially, since I would have never known about it if Tyler hadn't noticed."

Elijah glanced at the kitchen, comprehension registering on his face. "Hence the destruction of your home."

"That wasn't," Caroline paused, replaying the events of earlier in her mind, acknowledging her guilt. "It wasn't entirely because of that. I played a part in some of this."

He arched an inquisitive brow at her, waiting for her to continue.

"I cheated on Tyler with Klaus." There she had said it. Confessed her guilt out loud, laying herself bare to Elijah, the penitent to a priest. She didn't understand why she did since he had no reason to offer her understanding, absolution or condemnation.

"From what I know of my brother, you never had a chance to do otherwise." Elijah smiled down at her with a sad, knowing smile. "His tactics of persuasion are legendary and when it comes to his obsessions – we all are pawns to his will. He manipulates our weaknesses, bending and shaping them to his advantage, until he can move us into play."

None of that erased the sooty taint on her soul, but it offered her a kind of atonement, lightening the weight of her guilt. "So we really are all a chess game to him."

"You have played it with him, then?"

"Yes." Caroline halted the shiver of the memory teasing the edges of her consciousness. She wouldn't think of the intimacy of that day, their passionate kiss, his wrist to her mouth, the sweet nectar of his blood flowing down her throat. Not with Elijah standing right in front of her.

"Then you understand that it all comes down to the Queen."

"Yes. I remember that. She holds the most power."

Elijah graced her with an approving nod, a teacher pleased at the student. "The king lives and dies by her and so does my brother."

"I'm sorry. I'm not understanding?"

"Niklaus has done something I never thought to see. Using the laws of our kind, he has bitten you and marked you as his consort, his Queen."

"I get the biting part. But what does that have to do with what you just said? He said he did it to protect me."

"Yes, but it is so much more than a mark of protection, Caroline," Elijah paused, his voice deepening, his features solemn. "For him and to everyone else supernatural it means that the two of you are one. He values you as much as he values his own life. You are the Queen to his chess game, the most powerful piece in his life and anyone who moves against you, moves against him."

"I…I didn't realize that." This revelation, the evidence of how much she meant to him frightened her, trapping her in a golden cage of his design. Yet, even as the bars closed in on her, she reveled in the power she had over him, the evidence of his affection.

"There is something else," he cleared his throat and rested his gaze on her. She stared back at him, captivated by the intensity in his eyes. They burned into her, reminding her eerily of the madness she sometimes glimpsed in Klaus. "From now on, until the end of time, you are one of us. Family."

Family. With Elijah, it was a religious vow and the enormity of it terrified her. From what she understood, the Originals rabid devotion to each other, even in the midst of their dysfunction was legendary. The alpha and omega, where one began the other ended.

"I'm having the mark removed."

Silence filled the entryway, seconds seeming like minutes before Elijah spoke again, "Have you told my brother this?"

"Yes, earlier tonight." Her voice caught, snagging on the memory of the look of devastation on Klaus' face, the light snuffed out in his eyes.

"It didn't go well."

"No."

Elijah grimaced. "I don't even want to imagine the damage he is doing to our home right now."

"I'm sorry, but —"

He waved away her apology with an absent minded air and templed his fingers under his chin. "Can we sit somewhere? Converse more comfortably?"

"Of course." Caroline bit her lips as her lack of manners was called to attention once more. Avoiding the kitchen, she took him into the small sitting room, motioning for him to have a seat.

With a grace she couldn't quite believe, he folded himself into one of the wing-backed chairs. She took a seat opposite him, smoothing her nightclothes modestly around her. Memories of Klaus's past visits were everywhere; from the homework perched on the end table he helped her with, to the sketches he drew sprawled out on a pillow on the floor, to the couch where they cuddled and watched a movie together. The impending loss of all of this brought burning tears to her eyes and she blinked them away before Elijah could notice.

"What are your reservations about Niklaus? Trust me, I know my brother can be uncouth and I have no doubt that the circumstances of his marking you might not have been to your liking — although, I have been told it can be highly erotic if done correctly."

A flush of heat rolled down Caroline's neck and across her chest. Erotic? More like mind-blowing, weak in the knees, orgasm by death pleasure.

"I see." The corner of Elijah's mouth tucked into a smile at what she most definitely revealed while saying absolutely nothing. "So, enlighten me, what are you reservations about my brother?"

"Talking about this isn't going to change anything. I have made up my mind."

"Humor me."

"Klaus and I…. we can't happen," Caroline sighed. "There are too many differences between us, too much that has happened that I can't overlook. "

Elijah leaned back in his chair, looking every inch a psychiatrist analyzing a patient and Caroline swallowed back a nervous giggle at the insanity of him playing couples counselor to her and Klaus. "I assume you speak of the loss of Jenna? Or does this have something to do with your past life"

"You know about that? How?"

"Rebekah. She is the one that brought me home. She is very worried about Niklaus and the threat to your life. It seems she has come to care very deeply about what happens to you." Elijah tipped his head in Caroline's direction. "Something I can now understand and appreciate."

"I…I didn't realize she cared so much."

"My sister, over the centuries, due to a variety of reasons, has learned never to display her true emotions. Trust me, when I say she will be very pleased with this new development in your relationship with my brother."

Caroline clasped her hands together tightly in her lap. "That's the thing. There is no relationship, can be no relationship. I can't be with him."

Elijah remained silent, ignoring her rising frustration while he waited patiently for her to continue.

"He plays with Elena's life, hijacking her blood supply and is a constant threat to my friends. If they should offend me I can't trust that he wouldn't go out and murder them while I slept," Caroline explained, her voice growing heated. "He did it before to prove to himself he cared about me so what is to stop him from doing something that psychotic again."

"You, Caroline. The answer will always be you." Elijah leaned forward in his chair, his gaze warm, compassionate. "My brother in his entire lifetime has never given anyone as much power as he has you. For the first time, something means more to Niklaus than himself. Give him time, let him learn and grow from your presence – your kindness and love."

"He has already spent way too much time in my presence and what did he do?" Caroline scoffed. "He bit me. He marked me without even asking me and now I am what? His girlfriend? A Queen of this crazy kingdom he is trying to create?"

"More like wife, if you wish to be accurate," Elijah replied, elaborating his words with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Outrage poured through Caroline, her shoulder shaking now with anger. "What?"

"The Consort mark is such a difficult thing to define, but yes, I believe in human terms it would equal wife."

"That's it. This mark is going tomorrow. I don't care what kind of magic it takes. I'll sacrifice a chicken, a goat, anything to divorce myself from him." Caroline shot to her feet, folding her arms together in front of her. "Now, if you don't mind I have heard enough. I would really like to go back to bed."

Elijah couldn't ignore the civilized request. He rose to his feet with an elegant flourish. "Caroline, I know that this is a lot to take in, but I hope you will mull what we have discussed tonight over before making any rash decisions."

Smooth and polite as ever, yet in his tone flashed a hint of steel. It set Caroline on edge. He had not threatened her, but she would be foolish to forget he was an Original and Klaus' brother. She suppressed a shiver and padded to the front door.

"Thank you for stopping by," she said politely, regally, tapping into her manners at last.

Elijah smiled at her and then to her shock, like the courtiers of long ago to their ladies, he took her hand in his. Lifting it to his lips, he pressed a kiss to her fingertips. Over the top of her hand, his gaze met hers.

"Think of the good you could do, the changes you could make at his side."

"If he would listen to me, "Caroline retorted, trying to look away from the Original, but his eyes, they captured her, stabbed into her like a pin through a butterfly.

"Niklaus will never let you go."

Caroline couldn't swear later whether he said it or not, but she knew deep in her heart that he also meant they would never let her go.

Seemingly haven spoken his peace, Elijah released his hold on her and her hand fell to her side.

"I will have more hybrids sent over to keep watch." With those parting words, Elijah departed into the dark.

Tired and weary in mind and soul, Caroline slowly closed the door.

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><p>Thanks to my wonderful beta's QueenofKlaroline and Sci-Fi Christian.<p>

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


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